Three persons from the district were killed when a fire engulfed a furniture godown and adjoining labour quarters at Kalba in Sharjah on Friday. The dead were identified as Nisamuddin, alias Mani, from Valanchery; Husain from Kurukathani; and Shihabuddin from Thalakkadathur. They were sleeping in a room next to the Al Wahda furniture warehouse when the blaze suffocated them. Friday was a holiday for workers in the UAE.
Sources in Sharjah said the fire that broke out at the warehouse engulfed the quarters of the workers in minutes. Strong wind and presence of flammable materials like foam, chemicals, and wood caused the fire to spread quickly. Though fire tenders arrived in five minutes, the blaze could be doused only after three hours. Thirteen Indian workers were sleeping in their rooms next to the godown. However, 10 of them managed to escape through the air-conditioner’s vent.
The three Malayali victims were in a separate room, and they could not be saved. They reportedly fell unconscious as thick smoke entered their room when one of them opened the door.
The furniture warehouse belonged to Abdul Majeed from Tirunavaya.
