One dead in fire at residential building in International City

Dubai fire crews led tenants to safety during a blaze in a residential tower on Saturday evening.

One person was killed and two were injured in the incident in International City.

Video showed Dubai Civil Defence giving residents oxygen as they descended the stairs from the upper floors.

Witness video showed flames on the roof and upper floors of the 10-storey building. “The building has been evacuated to ensure the safety of its residents,” Dubai Government Media Office said on Saturday night.

“The incident resulted in one fatality and two injured currently receiving medical care.”

International City, to the south of Downtown and Dubai’s main airport, is a sprawling suburb of residential towers with some of the lowest rents in the city.

Authorities have not yet said what caused the blaze on Saturday.

In April, 16 people died and nine were injured when a fire tore through a low-rise apartment building in the Deira area.

Authorities said the April 15 fire in Deira was caused by a “lack of compliance” with safety standards and inadequate fire protection.

Last week, survivors of the fire spoke to The National of their ordeal nine months on.

Yemdzu Doris Claire, from Cameroon, lost her housemate in the blaze and has yet to return to the building since the tragedy.

“I’m still traumatised. I cannot stand the smell of smoke, and some days all I can do is cry,” she said.

Ms Claire, 28, suffered burn injuries from gripping on to an electric cable after jumping to escape thick smoke that filled her room. Along with five other flatmates, who heard warning shouts of “fire”, she managed to lower herself to the ground floor.

But their friend, Nicoline Abinkeng, also from Cameroon, fell to her death.

“As soon as I see smoke, I get scared even now and I feel the fire is coming,” Ms Clair told The National.

“I lost everything and I lost my friend.”