Four Pakistani workers who suffered severe burns in a factory fire in Ajman are preparing to fly home after receiving life-saving treatment in Abu Dhabi.
The men were transferred to the capital's Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City in induced comas, with doctors fearing their chances of survival were low due to the extent of their injuries.
They were among nine Pakistani citizens hurt when a huge fire erupted at a chemical products plant in the emirate in February.
The four patients – Gul Dad Dahri, Imam Bux Solangi, Nawab Shahnawaz, and Muhammad Akram Khan – were initially admitted to local hospitals before being moved to Abu Dhabi for specialist care.
They are now on a long road to recovery after undergoing a series of complex operations followed by months of gruelling rehabilitation.
Mr Solangi, 39, suffered burns to 90 per cent of his body in the blaze.
He is looking forward to going home to see his family, but hopes to return to the UAE to financially support his loved ones.
“I am excited to go home to see my family, but I want to come back to work in the UAE,” he said.
Mr Dahri, also 39, a father of two, was inspecting sanitiser bottles when the fire broke out.
“I tried to run away but the flames reached me,” he said. Shortly afterwards, he fainted.
He sustained burns on 63 per cent of his body and remains in a wheelchair.
Medics offer vital lifeline
Dr Simon Myers, a plastic surgery professor at the hospital and acting chair of its burns division, said the patients first required operations lasting about six hours to remove the burns.
“They're massive operations, you lose a lot of blood, and it's quite intense,” he said.
“For most of the operation, their whole body is exposed. Once the burn is removed, the wound is covered with donor skin and synthetic skin until it can be closed with the patient’s own skin in a series of operations over time.”
He hailed the dedication and expertise of the hospital's medical team.
“The survival of these patients was a result of the hard work of a large team in a state-of-the-art facility, with access to modern skin replacement technologies.”
Key steps to recovery
Zaskia Ezendam, a senior occupational therapist at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, said patients who have incurred such serious burns require round-the-clock support once surgery has been carried out.
Intense physiotherapy is required to help get them back on their feet, particularly after months spent largely confined to a hospital bed.
“Once the doctors have done most of the surgery, the big job for us is to try and get them to move as much as possible, because the skin contracts really quickly, and the skin that they grafted, or after the burn injury, is not as elastic as normal skin would be.
“So there's always a fine line – they have pain and they're busy healing, but we need to start moving them as soon as possible to make sure that they get back as much movement as they can.
“So we've done a lot of exercises to get them moving, to get them out of bed, sitting up and walking.”
Three of the four patients are now walking independently, but the journey back to health is far from over.
“So the hard work for the patients also starts now,” said Ms Ezendam.
“Yes, we started rehab, but it's something that's still ongoing and that they will have to continue in their home country as well.”
Biji Varghese, a charge nurse at the hospital, highlighted the critical role played by nursing staff.
“The nurses covered the patients 24/7. The doctors do an amazing job in bringing back the patient but then it is up to the team to get them mobile again.
“Some days we are taking the patient by the end of the day, like the evening, so the patient will still have huge management needs, like fluid replacement, blood replacement.”
Two of the patients had cardiac arrests at one point.
“We almost lost the patients, but excellent management brought them back,” she said.
Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City is regarded as a centre of excellence for patients with complex care needs, such as burns victims.
The hospital treated 263 people for burn injuries in 2023.
Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, Pakistan's ambassador to the UAE, visited the patients at SSMC this week.
He praised the medical staff for the care provided to the patients and conveyed his best wishes to the men, who he said would soon be transported home to Pakistan.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
THE BIO
Favourite place to go to in the UAE: The desert sand dunes, just after some rain
Who inspires you: Anybody with new and smart ideas, challenging questions, an open mind and a positive attitude
Where would you like to retire: Most probably in my home country, Hungary, but with frequent returns to the UAE
Favorite book: A book by Transilvanian author, Albert Wass, entitled ‘Sword and Reap’ (Kard es Kasza) - not really known internationally
Favourite subjects in school: Mathematics and science
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company profile
Company name: Dharma
Date started: 2018
Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: TravelTech
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs
AWARDS
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
Last five meetings
2013: South Korea 0-2 Brazil
2002: South Korea 2-3 Brazil
1999: South Korea 1-0 Brazil
1997: South Korea 1-2 Brazil
1995: South Korea 0-1 Brazil
Note: All friendlies
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
ROUTE%20TO%20TITLE
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Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
DUBAI%20BLING%3A%20EPISODE%201
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Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
England Test squad
Ben Stokes (captain), Joe Root, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Jack Leach, Alex Lees, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts
