Seven minor siblings die in UAE fire

DUBAI: The early morning fire in Fujairah, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, shocked the United Arab Emirates. As seven brothers and sisters, aged between five and thirteen, died of smoke inhalation in a house fire in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, on Monday, police said.

The fire struck in Rul Dadna that is about 115 kilometres northeast of Dubai along the country's coastline. Fujairah police said the mother awoke at dawn to the smell of a fire in her house. The local police chief said investigations were underway and called on residents to install smoke detectors as a safety precaution.

Following the tragic house fire, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has directed the UAE Civil Defence to immediately install fire alarm systems in every citizen's home at the expense of government for those who can't afford it.

Police in Fujairah said the blaze killed four girls and three boys. Among the victims were five-year-old twins Sara and Sumaiyah. “When rescue teams arrived at the house, the seven children were found dead: three sons and four daughters between the ages of 5 and 13,” police said in a statement.

It said all suffocated in the smoke while their mother was unable to save them. An investigation into the fire is underway, though police urged all emirates to have fire and smoke alarms in their homes.