Thousands mourn fire victims

abu dhabi — It was sorrow and devastation as thousands of people gathered at the Bani Yas Graveyard mosque to attend the funeral prayer of the eight members of a family who died in a home fire on Tuesday morning.

The crowd of Emiratis and residents came from various emirates to offer their condolences and participate in the funeral. All the faces at the funeral gathering were filled with sorrow.

The bodies of the five women and three children reached the mosque after 6pm and their funeral prayers were performed at 6.30pm, immediately after the Maghrib prayer.

The devastated mourners who had gathered at the graveyard mosque since 4.30pm sat inside the mosque as they recited the Holy Quran while others sat in the tents and the compound outside the mosque, waiting to bid farewell to the deceased.

Emirati Mohammed Al Yafeae, 26, a friend to the family of the deceased who attended the burial, said the incident has shocked everyone in the community. “This is a big loss to the family and the village. We are all saddened by their sudden death,” he said.

Another Bani Yas resident, Abdul Aziz Al Khatri, 42, a relative of the family, said: “This is hard to take in. Eight members have all gone at the same time! We are devastated by the loss.”

Saaed Al Hada, 37, an Emirati neighbour of the victims, said: “This is really shocking. We have been saddened by the sudden death of our friends. The women were friendly and the children used to play with my kids.”

All the eight bodies were laid to rest at the Baniyas Graveyard at 7pm.