A person believed to be a Kenyan national living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) narrated horror after a 48-storey building burst into flames.
The unidentified man narrated, in a heavy Swahili accent associated with Kenyans, that the fire broke out on a building next to one he resides in the city of Sharjah, which neighbours Dubai.
In his recording, he showed the streets next to the building where a multitude of people watched helplessly as one of the city's tallest buildings burnt down while firefighters attempted to put out the fire.
"Hii ni ile building mrefu na mimi hukaa hii. Imelipuka moto na nadhani watu wali-evacuate.
(This is one of the tallest buildings here and I live on this one. It has burst into flames and I think people were evacuated)
"Unaona moto unashuka na ni ile mrefu kabisa. I think ni 36 (floors). Watu wamejaa hapa. Moto ndio saa hii umeshika kasi kabisa," narrated the witness as he pointed at different buildings.
(You can see the fire is slowly engulfing the lower floors and this is a really tall building. I think it is 36 floors. People have turned out in numbers here. The building is burning intensely now.)
According to a report by Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the building caught fire just as its residents were finishing their nightly Ramadan feast.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, May 5, and the outbreak left debris to shower neighbouring parking lots.
The report also indicated that seven people sustained minor injuries but the cause for the blaze was not immediately established.
"Me and my family just directly went down with everything we had and just what we were wearing," Syrian Fadlallah Hassoun, a resident in the building told the Associated Press.
The Abbco building ranks as the eighth tallest in Sharjah while number 198 in the entire world. It stands at 190 meters in the Al Nahada address of Sharjah.
Emergency protocols dictate that in case a building catches fire, all people inside should act immediately and should never ignore a fire alarm.
The survivors should also lay on the floor to limit the intake of fumes and crawl to the floor in case they are on the bed or Sofa-set seats.
The people are also advised to exit the building immediately and should not attempt to search for valuables or put out the fire unless they are trained firefighters.
