Dubai: A Dubai petrol station has confirmed an incident of water contamination in a fuel tank and promised to compensate affected motorists.
Some cars reportedly stalled on Sunday after filling up at Emarat’s Ibn Battuta station on Shaikh Zayed Road. At least two motorists said checks showed water in their car fuel tank and engine.
Apparently only motorists refuelling in the morning at a certain pump or number of pumps were affected.
A few motorists had their cars towed back to the station, complained to management and called the police.
Emarat told Gulf News in a statement that it appears 15 vehicles were affected, adding “a very thorough investigation” is under way to ensure no contamination recurs.
It was not immediately clear what the water-to-fuel ratio was in the contamination.
The statement carries no details on how water contaminated an underground fuel tank in the first place, but adds the matter is being probed.
“It is unfortunate that an incident of this sort has occurred, which is very rare. Our initial findings suggest that water contaminated one of our underground fuel tanks, which has supposedly affected some 15 vehicles,” it said.
“Emarat do apologise for such inconvenience and will undoubtedly compensate its valued customers.
“The root cause of this is still being investigated by our technical services team, and we expect a very thorough investigation to ensure that preventive measures are in place to prevent this from happening again.”
An affected motorist said around half a dozen drivers were asked by police to visit the Jebel Ali police station on Sunday and follow up on Monday.
He added that he was directed by a police official to obtain a workshop quotation for any repairs needed and present it to Emarat.
The motorist said the station manager told him the cost would be settled through insurance cover.
