Workers injured in blaze on Al Reem Island

BUILDING BLAZE: Several workers were injured in the fire at a building under construction on Abu Dhabi's Al Reem Island. (ITP Images, for illustrative purposes only)

Several construction workers were injured when a fire broke out in an underground car park of a building on Abu Dhabi’s Al Reem Island.

Their colleagues managed to flea to the top floors of the building to escape the thick smoke and flames after the blaze started at about 3pm on Sunday.

A rescue worker was also badly burned and was taken to hospital for treatment, where he is said to be in a stable condition, according to a report in Gulf News.

"Several workers were injured in the incident. Construction materials stored at the basement of the building led to heavy smoke", Colonel Othman Al Tamimi, director of emergency and public safety, Abu Dhabi Police, told the paper.

"Although the workers rushed to top floors to avoid the fire and heavy smoke covered the area, emergency officials managed to reach those trapped and evacuate them to safety without causing casualties", he said.

Firefighters were able to control the flames on the ground and prevent them from spreading through the building, while the workers used a temporary lift to escape, the paper said.

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the blaze.

In a statement sent to Arabian Business on Monday, Joe Ong, Tamouh CEO, confirmed the fire broke out in a basement between two buildings in its Marina Square development.

"At the moment, it is too early to determine either the cause of the fire or the actual damage. Along with our contractor, we are investigating the incident to identify the cause,” he said.

“s a major developer Tamouh has always been committed to providing high standards of safety to its workers and we will continue to ensure a safe and secure working environment for our construction staff. "

He added: "The site of the incident has been cordoned, but construction work on the rest of the development continues as usual."

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