Sharjah tower fire: Expat rescues 11-year-old girl from locked apartment

Sharjah - The girl was left by her mother alone in her apartment as fire spread.

Timely intervention of a 28-year-old Jordanian visitor saved the life of a 11-year-old Arab girl when Sharjah's Abbco Tower went up in flames on Tuesday.
The girl was left by her mother alone in her apartment in the first floor.
Mohammed Al Saudi, a tenant of the 38th floor in the building, was returning to his apartment from outside when the fire started. He said he didn't notice the fire that started from the 10th floor as it was just starting then.  

"A few minutes after I entered the apartment, I heard sounds of the residents living in the lower floors and realised that there was a fire in the tower."
I tried to rush down through the stairs, but I noticed that objects such as old furniture and empty cardboards were obstructing the movement. But most of the tenants were wise and they quickly removed the items and helped each other to reach outside."  

He said he was among the persons who were helping the families with children and elder people. When he reached the first floor, he heard loud screaming of a girl pleading for help, as she failed to open the door of her apartment.  

"I rushed to the apartment and with help with another person, I tried to open the locked door with a piece of iron that was in my hand. But it was not possible for me because the mother locked the door and took the key with her. I told the person standing in front of me that the only solution is to break the door in order to save the girl.  So, we broke the door open and rescued the girl," said Al Saudi.

He said the child told them that she was living with her mother in the apartment. As her mother was outside the building when the fire broke out, the girl tried to call her. The mother called the building guard and asked him to save her daughter. But he didn't turn up and then she screamed for help, hoping that someone would be able to help her.  

"The girl was in a good health condition, but was in serious state of fear and panic. We immediately brought her to the safety zone outside the tower," the youth recalled.
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah