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News report of death was false, says mall chief

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Al Tamimy said the 50-year-old Turkish man, Marzan Ali Bazar Khan, collapsed while watching a game of chess on Thursday. Quoting from the hospital report, he said the man died of a heart attack.

“The newspaper report, however, described the dead person as a young Syrian, and that he fell from the second floor after losing balance in front of hundreds of visitors to the mall,” he said, adding that the report also mentioned that members of the public administered first aid to the victim, when the fact was that the mall’s security called the emergency unit of Al Ain Hospital.

“The emergency unit instructed that the victim should not be moved till the ambulance arrived. The security personnel at the mall are well trained to give first aid and artificial respiration,” he said.

Al Tamimy said that moreover, the incident occurred at a time when the mall was hosting the ‘Police Week’ which meant that Ambulance and Rescue Units of the police were there already and the security had sought their help and not of the visitors as alleged in the report.

“There are two hotlines between Al Ain Mall and Al Ain Civil Defence in addition to Al Ain Hospital Emergency Unit to face crises, disasters or accidents,” he said.

The evening newspaper also wrongly reported that the man died on the spot, when in fact, he died after reaching the hospital, he said.

He said Al Ain Mall had sharp safety measures in place to ensure people’s security and well-being, daily check of gas cylinders to control any gas leakage, regular check of fire-fighting equipment in addition to medical equipment.

Al Tamimy appealed to the local Press to be accurate and honest, saying that journalists have to write what actually occurred.

“It is dangerous and confusing to write a report based on rumours or public gossip, and hence, they should get the story confirmed by authoritative sources,” he said.

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