Two injured in Sharjah diesel warehouse fire

Two workers suffered minor burn injuries in a massive fire that erupted at a diesel warehouse in Al Sajaah industrial areas in Sharjah on Friday night.

According to a civil defense official, barrels of oil were seen blowing up and the entire area was engulfed in smoke. The fire spread quickly due to high winds on Friday night. The blaze destroyed a number of warehouses and a large number of diesel barrels belonging to a diesel company operating in Sharjah.

He added that firefighters from various fire stations in Sharjah battled the blaze for at least four hours to put out the fire which quickly spread most of the warehouses in the company's premises.

The huge flames resulted in loud and continuous explosions of oil barrels and destroyed a number of vehicles parked inside the premises.

The police had cordoned off the area immediately after the fire had engulfed the premises.

The official said that the fire spread because of inflammable petroleum and chemical materials stored in barrels in the warehouses.

The Sharjah Civil Defence was assisted by their counterparts in Dubai and Ajman, as well as Sharjah Municipality and the Sharjah Electricity and? Water Authority.

The cooling operation continued the following day to ensure that the fire does not erupt again. The site will be referred to forensic experts on Saturday evening for investigation to determine the cause of the fire.

"There were more than 20 barrels of diesel and petrochemical materials, all of which exploded," an eyewitness said. "There was a series of explosions," he added.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah

Afkar Ali Ahmed

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com