Villa residents sift through fire wreckage

As Dubai officials continue investigations, India's consul-general offers to help displaced workers and calls living conditions 'inhumane and unfit'

Venu Rajamony, India's consul-general in Dubai, right, and other officials visit the Naif area where 11 men died in a villa fire.

DUBAI // Hundreds of former residents of the fire-gutted Naif villa, in which 11 men died and dozens were injured on Tuesday, gathered yesterday to pick through the charred wreckage of their home in an attempt to salvage what was left of their belongings. The men, mostly from India and Bangladesh, returned to find a scene of devastation in the aftermath of one the worst fires in Dubai history. They were met by relief workers at the scene to offer practical assistance and to help them come to terms with the tragedy. The devastated villa was cordoned off for a second day as Dubai police and Civil Defence continued their investigations.

Venu Rajamony, the India's consul-general in Dubai, was among those on hand to offer help to the displaced workers, some of whom had been injured and most of whom had lost all their possessions. Mr Rajamony said the villa, where it is thought as many as 500 labourers may have been staying, was "inhumane and unfit for living", and expressed shock that so many people had been staying under one roof.

"Many of the people living in the villa were illegal workers and the consulate has urged them to return home," said Mr Rajamony. Consular officials have arranged temporary accommodation and relief for their countrymen. Families of the dead men in India have been informed and the bodies will be repatriated once the police investigation concludes and formal identification has been carried out. The consulate will help with expenses to return bodies in cases where families face financial hardship.

"We have 42 workers who are now housed in a labour accommodation in Al Quoz," said Mr Rajamony. "We are giving them food, medication and some money for the time being. This is temporary accommodation and we are working out some other relief for them." He appealed to the UAE Government and charity groups to come forward to offer help to the victims. The Indian consulate has been working with police to gather information about the people who were living in the villa. "We have a list of the people who have died," said Mr Rajamony. "We understand that there were 10 Indians and one Bangladeshi, whose bodies have been found."

Fourteen others, he said, had suffered minor injuries. The 10 Indians who lost their lives in the fire were from Metpalli Taluka in the Karim Nagar district of Andhra Pradesh, the largest state in southern India. Mr Rajamony said whoever housed people in such overcrowded conditions should be held responsible for the tragedy. "It is inhumane to house people like this and action should be taken against the middlemen and owner," he said.

Residents of the villa said yesterday that they had been offered spaces by agents who had added more and more beds to the property. "They just kept building more partitions and more rooms to fit in more people," said one. "We did not say anything because we were scared that they would throw us out." Mr Rajamony urged Indians not to live illegally in Dubai, and insisted that it was the responsibility of employers to accommodate workers properly. "Employers must take responsibility for the housing of their workers," he said. "All employees have to be provided with good living conditions."

Relatives of those who died in the fire are now facing the harrowing ordeal of identifying the dead, many of whom were burnt beyond recognition. Kokku Tukanna, 45, a construction worker who lives in Al Quoz, left the scene of the fire yesterday to travel to the mortuary at the Dubai Police headquarters in Al Qusais where most of the bodies had been taken. He feared his son, Sanjeev, may have died in the fire.

"He was living in the villa and people there say he died," said the distraught father. "I have seen some bodies this morning, but I am not able to identify him." Mr Tukanna, from the Karim Nagar district, said he was shattered that all his dreams for his son had come to an end. Last night, the Indian Consulate issued the following list of Indian nationals who died in the fire: Gilli Bakanna, Kuku Sanjeev, Talari Gangadhar, Mr Devarajanna, Chinnayya Talari, Talari Sudharshan, Talari Raju, Mr Gangaram (Pachnnarkuda), Mr Gangaram, Mr Gangadhar.

The Bangladeshi victim has yet to be named. [e-mail]