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Has anyone got any info on this? I've heard a rumour that there is a fire in a tower in the Dubai Marina and there are labourers trapped and in need of rescue.

heard nothing as yet hope its just a rumor

its true...i dont know if its the marina...not the marina in fact...some building on the other side.....but on shiekh zayed....multiple helicopters and blah blah on the scene...

hopefully they get them out..

Its a an office tower block that is on fire.

XPClone wrote:Its a an office tower block that is on fire.

One of the Jumeirah Island Towers. An Al Fajer building I think.

Was worried it was one of ours... but no. Hope they get everyone out OK.

gulf news online has some pictures - am still surprised by what they will show in the papers here!

If the pictures are true - not everyone got out.

Coops wrote:gulf news online has some pictures - am still surprised by what they will show in the papers here!

If the pictures are true - not everyone got out.

Don't look at the pictures if you have a weak stomach or respect for human life.

sorry should have said that!

There is no disclaimers on the website - which is also a little disturbing/annoying

A few of the pictures look to be taken with a mobile phone - who stands watching a burning building with people inside, and is able to take a picture like that i dont know....you would have to be standing there waiting for it!

omg that is awful.
just saw some pics. poor men.

^ian^ wrote:

Coops wrote:gulf news online has some pictures - am still surprised by what they will show in the papers here!

If the pictures are true - not everyone got out.

Don't look at the pictures if you have a weak stomach or respect for human life.

ian the pics r just on top of the article's title.
so if these pics just pop on ur screen how does that make one have no respect for human life

alexandra wrote:

^ian^ wrote:

Coops wrote:gulf news online has some pictures - am still surprised by what they will show in the papers here!

If the pictures are true - not everyone got out.

Don't look at the pictures if you have a weak stomach or respect for human life.

ian the pics r just on top of the article's title.
so if these pics just pop on ur screen how does that make one have no respect for human life

Way to go for totally misreading what I said.

whatever u say man

Sad...another tragedy just in couple of days

alexandra wrote:whatever u say man

Well, to clarify, I didn't say those who viewed them, intentionally or otherwise had no respect for human life, what I meant was those who prefer not to view these things out of respect for human life should avoid it.

Are we clear? Or are you going to maintain your hissy fit?

Does anyone know which tower the fire is in? I know someone who had bought a flat in one of them.

One of the major problems here with life safety related to construction is the lack of fire fighting equipment available during construction, which taking into consideration the amount of combustable materails used during construction is farcical.
The Civil Defence or in this case FZ authority are very strong on the systems that need to be installed in the finished product, but silent on protection during construction.

^ian^ wrote:

alexandra wrote:whatever u say man

Well, to clarify, I didn't say those who viewed them, intentionally or otherwise had no respect for human life, what I meant was those who prefer not to view these things out of respect for human life should avoid it.

Are we clear? Or are you going to maintain your hissy fit?

now u make sense. so we r clear
hissy fit??

What you would hope is that if safety has been lax in some respect, then a full and proper investigation would be launched and a prosecution would follow. But this is Dubai and the poor labourers who actually build the place seem to be treated as fodder. The safety record and conditions for these people is appalling but there are plenty more to take their place, so what the hell.

Rescue workers are still looking for the body of a worker who is presumed to be buried under cement debris after an accident at a construction site in the Academic City on Tuesday. And it goes on.

But a lot of times when things happen it's simply swept under the carpet or goes unreported.

Dubai's treatment of labourers: Scandalous.

heres the link:
http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/General/10097710.html

GoodBai wrote:What you would hope is that if safety has been lax in some respect, then a full and proper investigation would be launched and a prosecution would follow. But this is Dubai and the poor labourers who actually build the place seem to be treated as fodder. The safety record and conditions for these people is appalling but there are plenty more to take their place, so what the hell.

Rescue workers are still looking for the body of a worker who is presumed to be buried under cement debris after an accident at a construction site in the Academic City on Tuesday. And it goes on.

But a lot of times when things happen it's simply swept under the carpet or goes unreported.

Dubai's treatment of labourers: Scandalous.

Essentially you are correct, however it is rather unfair to say "Dubai's" responsibility lies with the Contractors, it is extremely difficult for the Government to control each and every construction site. The next line of responsibility lies with the building owners because they do not want to pay the money for implimenting the proper safety procedures.

In which case they should be forced to by the authorities. There needs to be a thorough and tough enforcement of health and safety standards to protect people rather than leaving them at the mercy of those who run sites. It is the sensible and right way forward in a modern state.

GoodBai wrote:In which case they should be forced to by the authorities. There needs to be a thorough and tough enforcement of health and safety standards to protect people rather than leaving them at the mercy of those who run sites. It is the sensible and right way forward in a modern state.

You are correct, unfortunately, the process of learning safety standards etc takes time and should be left in the hands of seasoned professionals, not some guy who has been employed just to make up the numbers.

Poor men......

A tragedy, but surely worse will be to come for Dubai. All these towers they build have virtually no way out if you're way up in an office/ residential block. Even low-rise buildings that are split up would be forced to have fire escapes in Europe/ USA, too much pack em in and f**k the consequences here.

Photo from Gulf News, reporting that 4 people died, a terrible tragedy.

just a quick question (off the topic), s&g, how do you survive without sleep?

mighty.one wrote:just a quick question (off the topic), s&g, how do you survive without sleep?

Must be the same wy you do

R.I.P to them peeps who lost there soul....

am about to pour some water now coz damn alcohol be expensive

DON
ISH

This is a terrible tragedy. I was asking my husband last night if anyone was keeping stats on how many labourers are killed on contruction sites per week, per month, per year... He said someone in the government likely is, but the results will never be published.

Dubai is growing too fast with not enough qualified people doing the building, training and safety. The government doesn't have enough people to do inspections and fining in order to enforce the labour and safety laws.

The people losing out are the labourers.

tragedy indeed. RIP to the souls of those who are building this city for us to enjoy it.

The problem with the "investigations" that the cause always ends being a low level person who takes the heat and the higher up responsible people get away with it. Like the incident of the bus accident. The driver ended up being prosecuted which is fine, but what about his bosses and the people who didnt ensure a well trained, responsible driver be in the place, but instead an immature young guy who wanted to race with other bus drivers !

In this case, i bet the investigation will find that a "negligent" worker was the cause of the fire or a short circuit and the case will be closed. No one will investigate why the way out of the building was locked, and why there wasnt fire extinguishers, etc ...