DUBAI // An Indian man died and his two-year-old son was severely burned after an attempt to start a barbecue with petrol resulted in a fire inside their home, relatives of the family said yesterday. Shiraz Abdul Rahman, 37, died from his burns yesterday after being airlifted to Rashid Hospital with his son, Hanis. The boy was still fighting for his life after being transferred to Al Wasl Hospital. Relatives said he is suffering from burns covering 35 per cent of his body.
Mr Rahman was said to have burns covering more than 90 per cent of his body. A spokesman for Dubai Civil Defence confirmed the incident but provided no further details. Mr Rahman was employed as a chief of operations at a medical company. He lived in Al Qusais with his wife, Simi, his son and an older daughter. According to a relative, the incident occurred on Friday when the family was trying to start a barbecue grill in the kitchen of their third-floor home. The relative told The National that it was Mr Rahman's first attempt to do a barbecue inside the house.
With the help of an employee from Mr Rahman's office, they started the barbecue in the kitchen. However, they used petrol to ignite the fire, according to Yahiya Malikkal, a relative of Mr Rahman who was speaking for the family at their home yesterday. "It got out of control and the carriage caught fire," Mr Malikkal said. The carriage fell on Mr Rahman and the fire was accelerated by the petrol, which was kept next to the carriage, Mr Malikkal said.
Hanis, who was standing beside his father, also caught fire. "Simi pulled Hanis aside and quickly doused the fire. Shiraz was fully on fire and there was nothing that could be done," Mr Malikkal said. pmenon@thenational.ae
