Dubai: The Indian Consulate in Dubai has identified four Indians among the victims of a tragic fire in a residential building in Dubai on Saturday.

Sixteen were killed and nine others were injured in the blaze which Dubai Civil Defence attributed to lack of compliance with building security and safety requirements.

The deceased are a couple from Kerala and two men who worked at the building that caught fire in Deira district on Saturday afternoon, an official at the Indian Consulate told Gulf News on Sunday morning.

The Indian victims identified so far are Rijesh Kalangadan, 38, his wife Jeshi Kandamangalath, 32, Gudu Saliyakoondu, 49 and Imamkasim Abdul Khader, 43.

“We have received their passport copies through social worker Naseer Vatanappally. We would like to express our heartfelt condolences to the families and thank the social workers and others who have reached out with support. We are coordinating with the local authorities for the repatriation procedures,” said Bijender Singh, consul, Consular and Labour, at the consulate.

Kalangadan worked as a business development manager with a travel and tourism company while Kandamangalath was a school teacher, it was disclosed.

Brother's loss mourned

Meanwhile, Saliyakoondu’s elder brother Saliga Sahib Gudu Basha told Gulf News he was outside the building when his brother was inside, insisting on helping out with the rescue of others, when he died. He claimed it was the same case with Abdul Khader who also hailed from his hometown.

Saliyakoondu and Abdul Khader worked as watchman-cum-cleaner and painter-cum-carpenter respectively.

“I was helpless…I could only watch from outside,” Basha said.

Basha works as a security guard in a nearby building. On hearing about the blaze, he said he rushed to the site around 12.30pm.

“A Pakistani man living on the lower floor of the building told me he had told my brother and his colleague to come out. But they refused to leave as they wanted to be of help,” he said.

Basha said he watched his brother being rushed to hospital around 3pm. “I also went to the hospital and was told he was declared dead on arrival,” he said.

According to Basha, Saliyakoondu has worked in Dubai for 26 years and had been with the building for five years. He had three children. Abdul Kahder also hailed from their native place in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu and was working in the building since three years, he said, adding that he was also married with two children.

“People call them Rafiq and Imam. Their families are back home. Imam has got a three-month-old child. He had not seen the child. He wanted to go home after Ramadan,” claimed the devastated Basha who is coordinating with the authorities and social workers for the repatriation of the deceased.

Earlier on Saturday night, Vatanappally told Gulf News that three Pakistanis and a Nigerian woman had also been identified by their family members. More details about those victims are awaited.