16 killed, 9 injured in Dubai apartment fire

A fire broke out at an apartment building in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 16 people from India, Pakistan, Egypt, and other countries were killed in the blaze.

A statement from Dubai Civil Defense issued by the city-state’s media office gave the death toll. Authorities did not answer questions from The Associated Press.

Naseer Vatanappally, a Dubai-based businessman who volunteers with the Indian Consulate on repatriation issues, told the AP that authorities had identified the dead as six Sudanese, four Indians, three Pakistanis, a Cameroonian, an Egyptian and a Jordanian. He said police were working to process paperwork to send the remains of the dead back to their homelands.