Unsafe UAE building residents shifted to hotel apartments

Ras Al Khaimah - The entire area has been cordoned off and all nearby buildings have been examined to ensure public safety.

Forty-nine residents had to be evacuated late on Sunday (March 17) as part of their building crumbled due to the heavy rains. Concrete slabs were seen falling off the 30-year-old, six-storey residential building, sources said.
The Red Crescent Authority (RCA) came to the residents' rescue, evacuating all the tenants and moving them to hotel apartments.
Mansur Saeed Al Naqbi, director of the RCA branch in Ras Al Khaimah, said the 49 evacuees comprised 11 families of different nationalities.
"All the evacuees staying in the six-storey building have been shifted to hotel apartments, in collaboration with the bodies concerned, to ensure their safety and convenience."
Alerted of the incident, the RAK Police closed off the premises at the Old Souq area.
Brigadier Abdullah Khamis Al Hadidi, Acting General Commander of the RAK Police, said the road to the Old Souq was also closed.
"The entire area has been cordoned off and all nearby buildings have been examined to ensure public safety," Brig Al Hadidi said.
Evacuees shall remain in the hotel apartments as experts examine the structural integrity of the building.
Al Naqbi said "a thorough report shall soon be issued to determine how safe it is for the evacuees to go back to their apartments in the old building".
Most parts of the country, particularly the northern emirates, including Ras Al Khaimah, experienced heavy rains over the last few days. A number of roads were clogged and some - particularly those leading to Al Beeh valley and Jebel Jais - were closed due to floods.
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com

• Ras Al Khaimah