Blaze at Business Bay site; trapped workers air-lifted

A fire broke out in a building under construction near Burj Khalifa, Business Bay.
 
The blaze erupted in the early hours on Saturday.

"We have been here since 5.30am in the morning. We have pretty much got it under control now," said a fire brigade person at the scene around 9am.
 
Dubai Metro & Traffic

[All pictures by Majorie Van Leijen]

Meanwhile, the Metro on the Red Line has been put to a stop and passengers are diverted on their journey in both directions at the time of filing this report.

Traffic on the service road of Business Bay is jammed.

Taxis, private vehicles and stranded commuters are looking for alternative ways to continue their journey.

Helicopter rescues workers 

Some workers who were present in the building when the fire broke out were rescued in a joint operation between Civil Defence personnel and the Dubai Police.

Around six workers were lifted from the roof of the building by a helicopter and transferred to hospital, said a Civil Defence source.

There were other workers from the same company who looked helplessly at the fire. "We work the night shift, but our colleagues worked the morning shift.They were trapped in the building and taken out by a helicopter," said one of the workers.

It was a challenging operation to rescue those trapped due to lack of water in the building, which is still under construction.

"We delivered water from water tanks. We had to build platforms at the height of the fire to apply water, explained a Civil Defence official.
 

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