Massive fire breaks out at Ajman residential building

March 29, 2016

Ajman, Mar 29: A huge fire gutted at least two buildings in the Ajman One residential cluster of 12 towers close to the border with Sharjah on Monday night. Fire mainly damaged tower 1.

ajmanfire1

Brigadier Shaikh Sultan Bin Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Commander-in-Chief of Ajman Police, said five people sustained minor injuries and they were treated at the site. A pregnant woman was rushed to Shaikh Khalifa Hospital as she suffered from dyspnea.

Ajman Civil Defence tweeted early Tuesday morning that although the fire had been controlled, the cooling process was underway.

The operations room had received a call about the fire at 9.45pm. Civil Defence, rescue and ambulance teams rushed to the scene. Traffic on roads leading to the area had come to a virtual halt.

Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, rushed to Ajman to follow-up on the details of the firefighting operations, through the Command and Control Center at Ajman Central Operations Room at the Directorate General of Civil Defense in Ajman.

Bismillah, a Pakistani tenant of tower 8 in the complex said her three children rushed down 19 floors to safety. Tenants gathered around the complex as the buildings burned. "We are all very distraught. We have lost everything," she said.

Several units battled the huge blaze well into the night.

Flames are seen raging while the area has been cordoned off leading to huge traffic jam Ajman and Sharjah. Fire fighters were busy putting out the fire until late into the night.

“My flat is completed gutted,” said another resident while wiping away tears. "I have lost everything including my documents and I have no place to stay.”

Tower 6 was gutted by midnight as the inferno continue to rage through the building.

It didn't appear to spread to any other building after tearing through tower 8, 7, and 6.

Many tenants were in tears as the building burned. Huge crowds that gathered to watch the incident dispersed somewhat after midnight but many people continued to take pictures and videos.

"All I have left are the clothes on my back, " said an Indian tenant of tower 6, who lived on floor 22.

"My colleague is coming to pick me up. I am too disturbed to make sense of it all."

Buildings in the complex apparently untouched by the fire were empty as tenants had been evacuated.

"I am waiting to see if I will be let back in. Otherwise I will have to sleep on the beach tonight," said Katerina, a tower 3 tenant from Ukraine.

"I can't believe how quickly all this happened last. I saw the fire from my window and as a precaution grabbed my documents and left the building. It was not a huge fire then."

Fire trucks, police and ambulance units remained on the site. Police kept pushing forward the cordoned area away from the complex as fiery debris rained down.

People stood watching the flames well into the night.

ajmanfire6

ajmanfire2

ajmanfire3

ajmanfire4

ajmanfire5

Comments

Ahmed
 - 
Tuesday, 29 Mar 2016

sorry some correction....It should be abula hab Not abu thalib

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru police have arrested a 27-year-old NRI on his return from Saudi Arabia in connection with an Instagram post allegedly containing derogatory and provocative remarks about the Hindu religion, officials said on Monday.

The accused, Abdul Khader Nehad, a resident of Ulaibettu in Mangaluru, was working in Saudi Arabia when the post was uploaded, police said.

A suo motu case was registered at the Bajpe police station on October 11 after an allegedly offensive post circulated from the Instagram account ‘team_sdpi_2025’. Police said the content was flagged for being provocative and derogatory in nature.

During the investigation, technical analysis traced the Instagram post to Nehad, who was residing abroad at the time, a senior police officer said. Based on these findings, a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued against him.

On December 14, Nehad arrived from Saudi Arabia at Calicut International Airport in Kerala, where he was taken into custody on arrival. Police said further investigation is underway.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
December 15,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 15: Educational institutions in Mangaluru that rely on the popular Mangala Stadium for their annual sports events are bracing for an inconvenience as the city's key sporting venue is set to close its gates for a significant upgrade. The stadium is expected to be unavailable for approximately two months starting from January 15, 2026.

The closure is necessitated by a proposed overhaul of the stadium's facilities, with a special focus on upgrading the synthetic track. Pradeep Dsouza, Assistant Director of the District of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES), Dakshina Kannada, confirmed the development.

"Experts have visited the stadium, conducted a thorough inspection, and have given the go-ahead for a complete makeover," Dsouza stated. "Funds have been allocated for the project, and we are currently awaiting the final green signal from state officials to commence the work. We anticipate that the work will likely begin in the second week of January. Consequently, we have stopped renting out the stadium to colleges and other organizations in preparation for the upgrade."

The timing presents a logistical challenge for colleges, as many schools have already concluded their sports meets.

"Colleges will now be organizing their events and will need to find alternative locations to host their sports meets," Dsouza added. He suggested a few potential venues, including the Dakshina Kannada police ground, University College grounds, Panambur grounds, Swaraj Maidan in Moodbidri, and the Mangalore University sports grounds in Konaje.

However, many institutions note that finding a comparable venue will be difficult. While the DK police ground and University College grounds are closer to the city center, they do not possess the extensive facilities and infrastructure offered by Mangala Stadium.

Dr. P Dayananda Pai - P Satisha Govt First Grade College, Carstreet, is one such institution dependent on the stadium. Principal Jayakar Bhandary expressed hope for a swift completion of the work. "We expect the work to be completed at the earliest. If not, we will be forced to look for other venues to host the sports day for our students," Bhandary said, highlighting the pressing need for the city's main sporting facility.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
December 19,2025

Mangaluru: In a decisive move to tackle the city’s deteriorating sanitation infrastructure, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has announced a massive ₹1,200 crore action plan to overhaul its underground drainage (UGD) network.

The initiative, spearheaded by Deputy Commissioner and MCC Administrator Darshan HV, aims to bridge "missing links" in the current system that have left residents grappling with overflowing sewage and environmental hazards.

The Breaking Point

The announcement follows a high-intensity phone-in session on Thursday, where the DC was flooded with grievances from frustrated citizens. Residents, including Savithri from Yekkur, described a harrowing reality: raw sewage from apartments leaking into stormwater drains, creating a "permanent stink" and turning residential zones into mosquito breeding grounds.

"We are facing immense difficulties due to the stench and the health risks. Local officials have remained silent until now," one resident reported during the session.

The Strategy: A Six-Year Vision

DC Darshan HV confirmed that the proposed plan is not a temporary patch but a comprehensive six-year roadmap designed to accommodate Mangaluru’s projected population growth. Key highlights of the plan include:

•    Infrastructure Expansion: Laying additional pipelines to connect older neighborhoods to the main grid.

•    STP Crackdown: Stricter enforcement of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) regulations. While new apartments are required to have functional STPs, many older buildings lack them entirely, and several newer units are reportedly non-functional.

•    Budgetary Push: The plan has already been discussed with the district in-charge minister and the Secretary of the Urban Development Department. It is slated for formal presentation in the upcoming state budget.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.