(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Six construction workers were rescued when the under-construction building they were working on caught fire, stranding hundreds of commuters as Dubai Metro services halted for several hours.
The all-male crew were working on the sixth floor of the building, located 200 metres away from The Dubai Mall metro station, early on Saturday morning, when the fire was detected.
The commanding fire rescue officer said his men reached the location of the fire in a record four minutes, from the nearby Al Manara station. "We got the call at 5.54am and we were at the site at 5.58."
He said the six men were trapped in the building, on the same floor as the fire and blackened windows with smoke coming out of them were visible to the onlookers down below.
"We faced obstacles getting to (the men), as the space was being used as a warehouse, so we had crates and boxes in our way, but we managed to rescue all six."
He confirmed no one was injured in the blaze.
Meanwhile, Dubai Metro services between the Jafiliya and the Business Bay metro stations were interrupted for two hours due to the fire which broke out near the Burj Khalifa. The building is located right opposite a car showroom and a RAKBANK outlet.
The Roads and Transport Authority rail operation director Ramadan Abdullah, who was at the site of the fire by 7am said this might be the first time Dubai Metro services were interrupted due to a fire.
The extinguishing operation continued for about three hours and by 9am the situation was well under control with the fire put out. The metro services resumed by 10am.
Due to the interruption in the metro services the usually desolate Business Bay metro station area was clogged with people and metro replacement buses. A flood of cabs from all five Dubai cab companies had been diverted to the area for people to carry on with their respective commutes.
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