UAE woman killed in Jumeirah fire

Dubai - The source of the fire was an electrical wire that was linked to the building's doorbell.

An Emirati woman suffocated to death during a fire which engulfed her home in Jumeirah near the Iranian Hospital.

A police source told Khaleej Times that the Operations Room of Dubai Police was called by a family member who reported that a fire had erupted in their three-story home, where she lived with her sons and grandchildren.

Civil Defence officials and police patrols rushed to the scene and found heavy smoke billowing from the ground floor. They soon discovered that the source of the fire was an electrical wire that was linked to the building's doorbell, according to a maid.

After the rest of the family was evacuated, they found the woman dead from suffocation on the first floor.

According to the police source, the woman's husband had been sitting with her when the fire broke out when he heard their children, grandchildren and the maid screaming and crying for help. As he left to investigate, he noted the smoke which resulted in his wife's death.

The police source said that forensic experts have examined the scene and are investigating the exact cause of the fire and whether any legal action is necessary, adding that the fire may have been caused by an old electric circuit in the doorbell.

amira@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai