(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) For a good two hours, several residents of building 39 of the Al Khail Gate Community, evacuated from their buildings, sat in cars to escape the sun and get into a safe, air-conditioned environment.
Some of the children had run out of the building without shoes on. Too hot outside, the sensible thing to do was go sit in the cars. Khaleej Times spoke to several such residents taking refuge in their vehicles. In one car, there were two mothers with five kids in all. There was Annie in the front with her one-year-old, Zara, and at the back another four kids from the neighbourhood, with one of their mothers, Lily. A giant bottle of lemonade was propped up on the armrest in front. The unusual circumstance was a bit of a picnic for them, and most of the kids were smiling, happy to be safe, given something to eat, and uncomplaining about their temporary "accommodation". Cars were also the safest place to be for families who thought an earthquake had struck. Another family of four was in a white Fortuner, along with people who wanted some respite from the heat, but had no cars of their own. A resident of building 39, Zahir Abdul Kader - also the owner of the white Fortuner - was at work when the explosion occurred. His wife Anu called him, and he reached home from his office in Al Quoz in 10 minutes. Zahir was seen running around arranging water bottles for the ladies, and milk for his one-year-old Zaair. His elder son Zakaria had left their first floor apartment without any shoes, so being in the car made imminent sense. The family went back to their apartment home once the all-clear was given, and the electricity had returned, after being in the car for two hours from 12.30 to 2.30 pm. Indu Ravi, a sales executive for a manufacturing firm, and another resident of the first floor, was also in the Fortuner. She was all praises for the grocery store nearby and Lims Caf, that were distributing water bottles and juice for free to those affected by the explosion. In building 47, mother and wife May Ocreto had rushed home from her office in Internet City when she heard about "a blast" opposite her house. Her husband Marlon Ocreto and one-year-old baby were both perfectly fine. Baby Raiden had even witnessed the explosion from the window across, but had not burst into tears, according to his father. May's brother Roland Vicente, also at their apartment when the blast occurred, having just wrapped up breakfast, told Khaleej Times that the explosion sounded like a "C-4 bomb". Nivriti Butalia Nivriti writes features on turtles and fruit baskets and the importance of recycling your trash. Partial to quirkier human-interest stories, she handles special reports about the environment, higher education, tourism, heritage, books. Her twitter handle is @butniv.