DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A Dubai police official says that a fire in a building packed with foreign laborers has killed 11 people. India's consul in Dubai, Venu Rajamony, says 10 of the victims were Indian.
The police official, from Dubai's criminal investigation department, says Tuesday's blaze engulfed a house in the city's commercial district. He says up to 1,000 laborers were crammed in the 30-room building just behind a police station.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he isn't authorized to speak to the media, says the fire is under investigation.
International rights organizations have long criticized appalling conditions and safety standards for foreign laborers, mostly Asians, who work in the oil-rich Gulf.
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