16 dead, 9 injured in Dubai residential building fire

A massive fire ripped through a residential building in Dubai's Al Ras area on Saturday, leaving 16 people dead and injuring nine others.

Preliminary investigations showed that lack of compliance with building security and safety requirements caused the fire, a statement from the Dubai Civil Defence said.

It broke out in an apartment on the fourth floor.

Dubai emergency crew initiated evacuation and firefighting operations within six minutes of being notified about the incident at 12:35 pm.

Teams from the Dubai Civil Defence headquarters, Port Saeed and the Hamriyah Fire Stations brought the fire under control at 2:42 pm after which cooling operations were started.

The site has been sealed off for further investigations.