Fire in Dubai Kills Eleven Indian Laborers

Another fire in Dubai has killed at least ten, possibly eleven Indian laborers

India's consul in Dubai, Venn Rajamony has said that 10 Indians are among those killed in a fire that broke out in a building packed with foreign labourers.

A police officer from Dubai's criminal investigation department said the blaze engulfed a house in the city's commercial district. He says up to 1,000 laborers were crammed in the 30-room building just behind a police station.

The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he isn't authorized to speak to the media, says the fire is under investigation.

International rights organizations have long criticized appalling conditions and safety standards for foreign laborers, mostly Asians, who are basically slave labor, often discovering their passports and return tickets being held by the construction company until they have worked off the cost of passage to the Gulf.

Dubai burns

This is not the first fatal major fire this year and the UAE has had 14,000 fire accidents in the last 5 years. A landlord is being questioned about the incident, Dubai's deputy police chief said on Wednesday.

"We must find out who is legally accountable for this," Major-General Khamis Mattar al-Mazina said, adding that it was estimated about 20 workers shared each room.

Witnesses said many residents were treated for slight injuries and smoke inhalation, some at the site of the blaze which broke out in the early hours of Tuesday. The number of injured was not known.

Mazina said police were also looking into possible illegal subletting by the leaseholder.

They were examining safety measures at the house and trying to establish whether the building, which was divided into 42 rooms, had been extended without building permission. he added.

Sources close to the investigation said wooden panelling was used to create a second floor and dividers separated living spaces. They said the fire was believed have been caused by a faulty cooking stove.