Dubai: Major fire beaks out at Address Downtown hotel on New Year eve

December 31, 2015

Dubai, Dec 31: A huge fire ripped through a luxury Dubai hotel tonight as people gathered to watch New Year's Eve celebrations, injuring at least 16 people, authorities said.

downtown

Dubai's government media office tweeted that a "fire has been reported in the Address Downtown hotel. Authorities are currently on-site to address the incident swiftly and safely".

The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.

The 63-storey building, which is close to Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower, was engulfed in flames across several floors as sirens wailed and helicopters hovered overhead, witnesses said.

Dubai's police chief said all the hotel's residents had been evacuated from the scene of the blaze, which had still not been extinguished some two hours after it broke out.

"All the residents are out," General Khamis Matar al-Mzeima said.

"Until the fire is put out, we will not have information on what caused it," he added.

"At least 14 people have been slightly injured, along with one medium injury, and a heart attack case registered due to people pushing" amid the smoke, the media office tweeted.

Witness Raphael Slama told AFP the fire started at around 9:30 pm (1730 GMT) and rapidly spread upwards across dozens of floors.

The government tweeted that the fire erupted on the 20th floor and affected only the outer facade of the building.

"Four firefighting teams have been deployed" to fight the blaze, it added.

Authorities said earlier that they had deployed thousands of security personnel to ensure visitors and residents could enjoy the New Year's festivities safely.

The emirate had promised a "spectacular" fireworks display that was set to kick-off at midnight from the Burj Khalifa before spreading to various locations across the city.

A spokeswoman for the government said the planned festivities would go ahead despite the fire."New Year's celebrations will proceed according to schedule," Mona al-Marri was quoted by Al-Arabiya as saying, before confirming on her Twitter account.

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News Network
May 24,2020

Bengaluru, May 24: Karnataka has conducted 2.03 lakh tests across the 57 Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) COVID-19 testing labs till Sunday morning, said the state Minister of Medical Education Dr K Sudhakar.

He informed that the state has doubled the number of tests in just 16 days after clocking 1 lakh tests on May 8.

"After clocking 1 lakh tests on May 8, we have doubled the number of tests in just 16 days. As on this morning, we conducted 2.03 lakh tests across our 57 ICMR COVID-19 testing labs. I congratulate doctors and lab technicians on this achievement," Sudhakar tweeted.

As many as 1,743 people have been detected positive for coronavirus in the state, of which 597 have been cured and discharged and 41 have succumbed to the infection, as per the Union Health Ministry. 

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News Network
July 16,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 16: Rattled by the spurt in Covid-19 positive cases, a Karnataka minister on Wednesday said only god would save the people from coronavirus pandemic.

"Only god has to save us from the virus or the people should be made aware of the infection so that they wear mask and maintain social distancing," state Health Minister B Sriramulu told reporters in Chitradurga, 205-km northwest of Bengaluru.

Noting that the infection does not differentiate between rich and poor, police, doctors, politicians or legislators, Sriramulu said the communicable disease could rise to alarming level in the ensuing two months, as the cases were rising daily the world over.

"Who can control coronavirus? In the present situation, only god has to save us. Otherwise, the people should become aware of its (virus) consequences. If we have made mistakes, we are ready to face punishment for them," said Sriramulu, who is the ruling BJP's legislator from the Molakalmuru reserved assembly segment in the district.

Refuting the opposition Congress charge that the cases were rising in the state due to negligence by ministers, officials and legislators, Sriramulu said Karnataka was performing better than other states till the cases began to steadily rise since unlock started and the people were moving in violation of the guidelines.

A record 3,176 cases were reported from across the southern state during the day, taking the Covid tally to a whopping 47,253, including 27,853 active cases after 18,466 were discharged, with 1,076 during the day, while 928 succumbed to the virus, with 87 in the last 24 hours.

In Bengaluru, which is under 9-day lockdown since Tuesday night till July 22 morning, 1,975 positive cases were registered, taking its tally to 22,944, including 17,051 active after 5,455 were discharged so far, with 463 during the day, while 437 died of the infection, with 60 in the last 24 hours.

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News Network
June 8,2020

Mangaluru, Jun 8: Forum Fiza Mall in Mangaluru on Monday reopened for public after Ministry of Home Affairs allowed the reopening of shopping malls from June 8 with certain precautionary measures amid COVID-19 pandemic.

People visited the mall wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.

Earlier, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had said that religious places and places of worship for public, hotels, restaurants and other hospitality services along with shopping malls will be permitted to open from June 8.

However, these facilities will not be able to resume operations inside containment zones designated by authorities in states, said a government notification.

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