Abu Dhabi: Workers in Musaffah industrial area are terrified following the massive fire accident that occured ine early hours of Friday.
A worker living close to the site said he woke up in a fright after hearing the police sirens going off.
“There was total chaos at the site. Men were screaming and running. It was scary,” said Suresh Kumar, a mechanic who had been living in the area for more than twenty years.
He said he saw a charred dead body being puling out of the rubble. “There is no fire safety in the buildings. People live cramped in rooms.”
“There are too many people living in the area nowadays,” said Kuamr. “Safety has to be improved. Musaffah is no more a sleepy place. Many people work and live here.”
The area is dotted with a number of vehicle repair shops and the men who work in these ground floor shops usually find accommodation in the rooms on the first and second floors above the shops.
The accident site was a scene of devastation late Friday evening. Police cordoned off the area, preventing people from getting close to the scene of the fire.
Fear was palpable on the faces of labourers. Mohammed Sameer, from Bangladesh, said it was struggle for him to begin work on Friday. “My hand was shaking when I was repairing the car. It is too shocking. I have never came across such a thing in my life.”
“They [the people who live in the building that caught fire] are predominantly poor people. Their salaries are meagre. They pay Dhs500 for a bed space,” said Kumar.
