Careem offers free rides from areas around the Torch Tower

The ride-hailing app is offering customers free rides from the area affected by Friday's fire

Careem said to mull 14-country roll-out of new bus service. Victor Besa / The National

Transportation company best known for its ride-hailing app, Careem, is offering free lifts from all areas near the Torch Tower in Dubai Marina, the company said on Friday.

“At 1:20 am we pushed all drivers in nearby areas to go to the Torch Tower area to help pick up people affected by the fire,” Bassel Al Nahlaou, Careem’s vice president of business development and government relations, told The National.

The company posted on social media as well as sent messages to all mobile app customers.

There is currently no word on how long the complimentary service will last, but there are ongoing discussions to further help those impacted by the fire.

The Torch Tower building manager, Kingfield Owner Association Management Services, told The National that it was working on accommodation solutions for residents. “The safety of all residents and staff is of the utmost importance, and our efforts are currently focused on arranging the necessary emergency accommodation for residents. We will release a statement at a later stage,” said Anel-Carline Beukes, head of compliance and communication at Kingfield.

Residents said that the fire first broke out in the early morning hours with reports that the main fire had been extinguished by 4 am.

This is the second blaze to occur at the residential tower, following a fire in February 2015.

Dubai Civil Defence said that the building had been evacuated and that there were no casualties.