6 Pakistanis killed in UAE villa fire

ABU DHABI: Six Pakistani men, including four of a family, were killed after a fire broke out in a villa in Al Ain's Zakher area, the police said on Sunday. The tragedy was reported at 5.53am on Friday.

The police said the survivors of the fire failed to inform the police as soon as it broke out, causing it to spread rapidly. Two men at the scene tried to put out the blaze on their own, but failed to do so, Khaleej Times reported.

The deceased have been identified as Omer Farouq (23); his elder brother Khurram (27); their father Farouq, who was in his 50s; their relative, Ali Haider; and two family friends, Khayal Afdal and Eid Nawaz. A lone survivor of the tragedy, Mohammed Raheem, 50, who was visiting the family from Dubai, told Khaleej Times that he escaped by smashing open the aluminium roof of a bathroom. "I tried to pull Omer out, but he fell unconscious after suffocating due to the smoke," said Raheem, who works as a driver. According to him, Omer, Khurram, Khayal and Eid were sleeping in one room, while he, Farooq and Ali were sleeping in another. "I woke up because of the heat. By the time we realised there was a fire, it had spread all over. Omer and Haider tried to reach the other room, but it was impossible because of the raging flames. I escaped by God's grace, but I am struggling to cope with the loss of my friends," said Raheem.