Fujairah: Well-wishers from all corners of the UAE have travelled to a small settlement of Rul Dadna in Fujairah left in shock and grief over the deaths of four Emiratis — Saeed Abdullah Rashid Al Sereidi, his sons Abdul Aziz Saeed Abdullah and Ahmad Saeed Abdullah, and son-in-law Mohammad Saeed Rashid.
The four died inside their home’s septic tank in quick succession after an attempt to clean the sewage tank went horribly wrong on Saturday morning.
Relatives, strangers and high-ranking officials from near and far have been visiting the family’s home in Rul Dadna to offer their condolences.
“People from everywhere in the UAE, Shaikh Mohammad Bin Hamad Al Sharqi [Crown Prince of Fujairah], leaders in Fujairah, head of police, even [officials] from the army, relatives — all the people came to us. There was no space for everyone,” said Khalifa Rashid Abdullah Al Sereidi, the nephew of Saeed Abdullah Rashid Al Sereidi, who attempted to clean the underground tank.
He thanked all those who paid their respects, saying the family has been left overwhelmed by the outpouring of national support.
According to the nephew, the tank had been drained by a municipality tanker earlier on Saturday morning. Soon after, Saeed Abdullah Rashid Al Sereidi poured “a strong chemical” down the bathroom drains leading to the tank for additional cleaning. When he went into the tank to check the results, the chemical, said to be an acid, reacted with the moisture and produced a deadly toxic gas.
The nephew told Gulf News that by the time family members could understand what was happening, it was already too late for the four victims.
“All the poison went on my uncle’s face and he fell down. He called his wife for help but she couldn’t do anything. She went back inside and told his sons, ‘help your dad!’ One of his sons went directly into the tank, felt dizzy and fell. His brother went in after him and the same thing happened. Then she started screaming and her son-in-law, who was a neighbour, came and jumped inside as well. He smelt something and fell down,” he explained.
Another life — of a third son — was nearly lost in the same way but people stopped him from going in, the nephew added.
Authorities were called in and they also faced initial difficulties in entering the underground tank because of the gases and small opening, he said.
All the four men were rushed to Fujairah Hospital where they were declared dead.
The family meanwhile is in mourning. The grandfather — the father of Saeed Abdullah Rashid Al Sereidi, the first victim — has barely uttered a word since the tragedy. At the tent set up near the family home to receive well-wishers, a heavy silence hung in the humid afternoon air when Gulf News visited on Sunday.
In Rul Dadna, there is no sewage network and the villas have their own septic tanks. When these fill up, residents call in tanker services to pump out the contents. However, some residents use unregulated chemicals as an extra cleaning step when the tanks are empty, exposing themselves to health risks as septic tank cleaning requires certified specialists to do the job.
In the wake of the tragedy, a senior official has warned against the unsupervised use of chemicals at home.
Mohammad Saif Al Afkham, director-general of Fujairah Municipality, told Gulf News that while Fujairah City had a sewage network, in Dibba and other areas there is no such facility. However, residents can have access to sewage services by calling the sewage department and filing requests or complaints.
“The plans are on the table for a similar project in Dibba and other areas,” he added.
“The terrain of the emirate plays a great role in establishing a sewage system. Some regions are mountainous and it’s difficult to connect them to a sewage system. We are trying to find a radical solution to this problem. Maybe each region will have its own sewage system depending on its terrain.”
Commenting on Saturday’s incident, Al Afkam said the municipality had nothing to do with this incident. “It happened due to a lack of awareness. People need to be more educated about the risk of using such chemical substances,” he said.
“Today [Sunday], we held a meeting with different departments to find the solution to this problem. We will address the Ministry of Environment and Water, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Economy to regulate the use and the sale of such substances across the UAE.”
He added that “some of these substances sell in [hypermarkets] but people have no idea how to use them, which puts their lives at risk”.
