Five people dead, Pakistani worker among victims

A tragic fire in a high-rise residential building in Sharjah’s Al Nahda neighborhood claimed five lives, including that of a Pakistani worker, and injured 19 others, two of whom remain in critical condition, local police said on Tuesday.

“The blaze broke out at approximately 11:30 am, when Sharjah Police received an emergency call reporting flames shooting out from a top floor apartment,” the police said in a statement.

Authorities are treating the injured at Al Qasimi Hospital and have launched an investigation into the incident. Forensic experts have examined the site to determine the cause of the blaze, according to officials.

Eyewitnesses said the fire suddenly broke out on the top floor of the 52-storey building, which housed around 1,500 residents from diverse ethnicities.

Emirati authorities expressed their condolences in a statement, saying, “We extend our heartfelt sympathies to the families of the deceased and share in their grief during this difficult time.”

Officials will provide further updates as the investigation continues.

Gulf media reported that the most recent incident before the Sharjah high-rise fire, in which Pakistani nationals lost their lives in a fire in the UAE, occurred on January 25, 2024.

A blaze that broke out in an apartment in Sharjah’s Muwaileh area claimed the lives of a Pakistani man and his 11-year-old daughter. His wife and two other children were hospitalized in critical condition following the incident.

A fire in a Dubai residential building in April 2023 killed sixteen people and injured nine. The fire engulfed the five-storey building in the Al-Ras neighborhood, one of the oldest parts of Dubai, home to many migrant workers and traders, according to Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National.

Several residential compounds and hotels in Sharjah, one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE, have been hit by fire in recent years.

Experts said the exterior cladding may have encouraged the flames to spread in some of those cases.