Investigation launched, but authorities say violations of safety and security regulations are to blame.
An apartment building has been set on fire in an older neighborhood of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, killing at least 16 people and injuring nine, local media reported.
The fire broke out on the fourth floor of the building in the Al-Ras district on Saturday.
The Dubai Civil Defense Force said preliminary investigations showed the fire was caused by “a lack of compliance with building safety and security requirements,” according to a statement quoted by The National, a UAE-based newspaper.
“Relevant authorities are conducting a comprehensive investigation to prepare a detailed report on the causes of the accident,” the statement said.
One of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates, Dubai has a population of about 3.3 million, nearly 90 percent of whom are foreigners.
The nationality of the victims has not been released.
In recent years, fires have broken out in skyscrapers in Dubai and other fast-growing cities in the UAE. In 2017, a major fire broke out in a high-rise under construction near the city’s largest shopping mall. Two years earlier, on New Year’s Eve, a fire destroyed a five-star hotel in Dubai on New Year’s Eve, injuring several people.
Construction and safety experts have said the culprit is a popular type of exterior aluminum cladding with a plastic core that can be highly flammable.
Authorities announced in 2017 the adoption of stricter building codes to minimize the risk of fire, including the use of fire-resistant cladding.