Filipino photographer rescued from 48th floor of burning Dubai hotel

MANILA, Philippines – The countdown for the new year turned out to be some of the longest minutes of Dennis Borja Mallari’s life, as the Filipino photojournalist waited for help on the 48th floor of Dubai’s The Address Downtown hotel.

A huge fire erupted on the 20th floor of the luxury hotel Thursday night, December 31, rapidly spreading upwards and injuring 16 people, as dozens more were evacuated from the scene of the blaze.

But Mallari ended up stuck on the balcony of the 48th floor, where he and a friend had been taking photos of the night’s New Year’s Eve fireworks display for his newspaper.

While he was busy taking photos, his friend suddenly shouted that there was a fire, according to a report by the Khaleej Times. By the time Mallari started packing up to leave, smoke was already coming in towards the balcony, preventing him from evacuating.

“I started gathering my things and when I attempted to leave, the smoke was so thick and black that I almost choked. I then ran back to the balcony and stood there…I had no option but to stand there waiting for help,” he told the Khaleej Times.

Faced with the prospect of suffocation, Mallari decided to stay on the balcony and call for help. He waited for more than half an hour as flames continued to engulf the outer facade of the hotel.

The photojournalist was eventually rescued by civil defense workers. He was unharmed, but was later treated for smoke inhalation. – Rappler.com