Labourer killed in Sharjah factory fire

An Asian labourer died in a massive fire that broke out in the early hours of Saturday at a refrigerator manufacturing factory in Sharjah. The fire started at around 5.23am at the factory located in the Sharjah Industrial Area No 6.

Brigadier Abdullah Al Suwaidi, Director of the Sharjah Civil Defence, said the fire spread rapidly due to the huge quantity of inflammable materials stored at the factory.

“As soon as we were notified about the accident, fire brigades and fire engines from all Sharjah defence centres reached the accident site and helped control the blaze. All inflammable materials were moved away from near the factory to ensure that the fire does not spread.”

He added that the accident was considered major as one person died and all the factory’s contents were engulfed in flames causing huge financial losses. The labourer was inside the factory when the fire broke out. His body has been transferred to the police morgue.

“The fire was spreading rapidly and we were provided with water tankers from Dubai, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain. The fire was totally contained within two hours. Once the cooling process was completed the factory site was handed over to the forensic laboratory of the Sharjah Police to complete investigations and reveal the main cause of the fire,” he added.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com