Al Quoz warehouse explosion: Eyewitness accounts

"I was in my office - United Supplies Est. when I heard a big explosion. Our office glass shattered. The impact was that of an earthquake."
Syed Nadeem Ahmed, Al Quoz

"At about 7.20am, the whole house shook under a massive shock wave. My wife and kids screamed thinking the house had collapsed. I immediately went to look out the window where I saw a massive mushroom cloud climbing into the sky over Al Quoz. My wife then said that she could hear what sounded like gunfire - small popping sounds that went on for quite a while... meanwhile the thick column of smoke grew larger and larger."
John McGowan, Shaikh Zayed Road

"I was sitting in my kitchen when the explosion went off. It rattled my house badly, making dirt and dust fall off some of my windows. My family was scared and rushed to see what the loud noise was, only to see smoke billowing across the high way."
Shaun Amer, Al-Manara

"The noise was loud enough for me to go out and check the airconditioning equipment around my villa. When I did not see any damage, I came back inside. My dog was really startled by the explosion. Later my friend called me and told me about the fire. I went outside again to see a huge cloud of smoke over my villa."
A Jumeirah 2 resident

"I was standing in the kitchen eating a piece of toast when I heard a loud bang, and the house shook. I looked outside but couldn't see anything, but I knew there had been an explosion somewhere nearby. When I left for work I there was a huge black cloud funneling up from Al Quoz and small pieces of black debris were falling on my car when I came over the Safa Park overpass."
Dawn Montgomery, Umm Suqeium

"I was at home when the front door rattled around 7.20am. When I saw the smoke later in the morning it occurred to me that the door rattled from a blast/shock wave like I have felt many times in Iraq."
Mark, Arabian Ranches

The blast shook our home's windows. I went to the balcony and saw the big cloud of smoke far away. I could smell gas from where I was. Within minutes, I heard police alarms and the noise continued past 8 am. The smoke was so thick that it hid the sun and I did not require a sunglass while driving to work."
Ammar, Al Safa

I heard a loud explosion which shook our building,we could see thick black smoke along with debris flying in all directions. Even now we can hear lound bangs."
Shaheen, Al Quoz