SHARJAH // Tenants of an apartment block destroyed by fire gathered yesterday, waiting to re-enter the building and collect what remained of their belongings.
Tuesday's blaze in Al Kuwait tower took firemen more than five hours to extinguish.
Six people were injured, one of them seriously, and the damage was extensive.
A crowd at least 100-strong had amassed outside the building by around 1pm yesterday, waiting their turn to enter one by one.
Some had stood in the heat since the early morning as the apparently random process of picking the next to enter moved slowly forward.
"We have been here since 8am but have not had a chance to see our flat," said Suresh Joe, a tenant of the gutted structure.
"I hate the system they are using. One person goes and stays for 30 minutes and then they pick another one. Can't they allow all of us to go at once?"
That approach was impossible due to concerns over the safety of the building, which was still cooling off, and the valuables that may remain inside it.
Safety, and the protection of property, were paramount, said Lt Mohammed Ali of Sharjah Police, who was leading the operation.
"Some people have money, others have gold and other valuables," he said. "If you allow all the people to just come in, many things will go missing," he said. "We are allowing one person at a go. Two police officers escort the tenant to ensure he doesn't tamper with other people's belongings."
The building would be open to all residents in two days, said Col Waheed al Serkal, the Sharjah Civil Defence director.
But the process of gaining entry lacked any organisation, many complained.
Selection for entry was seemingly dependent on the whim of police, said Ali Salim al Hendi, a resident who had been waiting since morning.
"I am thinking of asking my wife to come down and try pleading for a chance, as women are given first consideration," he said.
That was not the case for Estelita del Mundo, a Filipina who had been waiting for more than five hours.
"Some women have had a chance to come and go inside immediately, but not all of us," she said.
Mrs Mundo, who has a six-month-old baby, said she was looking for someone who could tell her the Arabic word for 'baby', to use when asking the police to enter.
Many who gained admission may have wished they had not. Roy Jarapuyod, a Filipino, was unable to find any evidence of his two-bedroom apartment on the third floor.
"I need to hatch a plan to survive and start a new life, with new clothing, new furniture and a new apartment," he said.
"I will start by sending my family back to Manila next week if they get travel documents, and start afresh."
Mr Jarapuyod was also keen to hear of possible insurance compensation, but was unable to access the necessary information.
The same was true of Mr Joe who, from the street, could see only a hole in the wall where his fifth-floor apartment once stood, and feared nothing remained of it.
He also feared the free hotel accommodation provided by the Red Crescent was about to end. "They told us that today was the last day, and anyone who wished to stay longer had to start paying," he said. Salah Salman, the public relations director of the Red Crescent's Sharjah branch, said many of the victims were now in a position to look after themselves, though he pledged the group would still assist those in need.
"Whoever approaches us and claims he still needs our support, we are willing to help," he said.
ykakande@thenational.ae
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Director: Amith Krishnan
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Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
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Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
MWTC
Tickets start from Dh100 for adults and are now on sale at www.ticketmaster.ae and Virgin Megastores across the UAE. Three-day and travel packages are also available at 20 per cent discount.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Final: UAE beat Qatar by nine wickets
Third-place play-off: Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by five runs
Table
1 UAE 5 5 0 10
2 Qatar 5 4 1 8
3 Saudi 5 3 2 6
4 Kuwait 5 2 3 4
5 Bahrain 5 1 4 2
6 Maldives 5 0 5 0
