Four workers arrested after two men die in roof collapse

DUBAI // Four maintenance workers were arrested today in connection with the deaths of two men and the serious injury of another man after a roof collapse at a labour camp, police said.

The arrested workers were employed by a company that was carrying out maintenance work on the roof of a building at the labour camp in Al Quoz Industrial Area 2 on Friday morning. A crown-shaped decoration made of concrete fell and killed the two men instantly.

The third man, Mohammed Yaqoob of Pakistan, is fighting for his life at Rashid Hospital. Sources at the labour camp said Mr Yaqoob is a mini lorry driver at the mechanical and engineering division of a well-known contracting company.

Col Ali Ghanem, director of the Bur Dubai police station, said the responsibility for the deaths and injury lies with the company, and warned other companies against making mistakes that lead to workers' deaths.

One of the dead men, who is from Nepal, was a security worker at a nearby labour camp.

Officials from Dubai Municipality, which is investigating the cause of the accident, yesterday suspected that the maintenance company did not have permits to carry out the work. The municipality is expected to release its report this week.

pkannan@thenational.ae

wissa@thenational.ae