DUBAI: Residents in Dubai’s Torch Tower were evacuated for the second time in as many weeks, when the fire alarms sounded in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Still shaken by the recent fire that ripped up the side of the building in the early hours of Thursday, Aug. 4, people grabbed belongings and headed for the fire escapes, fearful that the vast tower was experiencing a third blaze.
The alarm sounded at about 4.30 a.m. (local time) on this occasion, according to UAE daily The National.
Residents evacuated on Thursday had only recently been allowed to move back in, and it is only those living in lower levels.
Yazen Al-Timimi, a Canadian consultant living on the 22nd floor told the newspaper: “I heard the alarm for about a minute, it then stopped… After what happened the other week I panicked and took some clothes, money and my passport and ran downstairs.
“There were families with babies trying to get out. Everything above the 28th floor is still empty. We thought it was the same thing happening again. Everyone was in panic mode, some were barefoot.”
Fortunately on this occasion it turned out to be a false alarm, and people were allowed to return immediately to their homes.
Repair work on the building is still underway from the first blaze that struck in 2015.
And it was only recently that the building management company responsible for Torch Tower informed its residents that the final repairs had been signed off, when the second fire struck.
Now many residents are discovering that they will be out of pocket because they had not taken out insurance on their possessions and their homes and they are not covered under the building owner’s insurance or that of their individual landlords.
Residents in Dubai’s fire damaged Torch Tower evacuated for second time in 2 weeks
Residents in Dubai’s fire damaged Torch Tower evacuated for second time in 2 weeks
Syrian and Lebanese presidents discuss border security after Hezbollah strikes hit west Damascus
- Ahmad Al-Sharaa expresses Syria’s absolute support for Lebanese government’s efforts to disarm the Iran-backed militant group
LONDON: The Syrian president, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, and his Lebanese counterpart, Joseph Aoun, discussed border security on Tuesday.
It came as Syria accused the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah of massing reinforcements close to the border, targeting army positions in Syria, and launching artillery shells from Lebanese territory that landed near the town of Serghaya, west of the capital Damascus.
During his conversation with Aoun, Al-Sharaa expressed his absolute support for the Lebanese government’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported. Depriving the group of its weapons was a crucial step in efforts to strengthen the sovereignty of Lebanon and protect the region from the consequences of ongoing armed conflicts, he added.
The two leaders also emphasized the need for joint action to ensure the safety of the Syrian people.
Thousands of Syrians who fled to Lebanon to escape the 13-year civil war in their country have returned home since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, and the spread of the conflict to other parts of the Middle East.
Israel has launched strikes against Israel and several Arab countries in the region, while Hezbollah, an ally of Tehran which the UK and other nations consider a terrorist organization, has also fired into Israel.
Israeli forces have hit back against Hezbollah with strikes on southern Lebanon and southern Beirut, and its forces have occupied key areas south of the Litani River.
