Migrant workers set fire to cars, equipment in northern Emirates after death of co-worker

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Newspapers in the United Arab Emirates say migrant laborers set multiple vehicles on fire during a weekend protest at a construction site in the north of the country following the death of one of their co-workers.

The National and Khaleej Times dailies were among the papers reporting the incident Monday. They say the protest happened Saturday in the northern emirate of Ras al-Khaimah after a worker fell to his death from the fifth floor of a building under construction.

Police say the death was an apparent suicide. Electrical generators and fuel tanks were also torched in the protest. No injuries were reported.

The Emirates is home to millions of low-paid migrant laborers. A group of South Asian workers last month staged a rare protest in Dubai over a pay dispute.