Massive fire at oil depot at Sharjah's Port Khalid

Sharjah: Thick black smoke enveloped the skies over Sharjah and Dubai after a massive fire gutted more than 10,000 square metres of an edible oil plant in Sharjah's Port Khalid.

Three workers received minor injuries that were immediately treated on the site, while some police officers and firefighters were also treated for smoke inhalation, according to a senior Sharjah Police official.

Video: Second huge blaze in two years at Sharjah port

Sharjah Police confirmed the fire started at 2.30am at the Emirates Oil Refining Company (ERCO) and was contained at 11.30am.

The smouldering fire was still visible until last evening.

Police rushed to isolate the premises and remove nearby workers, boats and machinery in order to limit the damage.

They had to carry out the task as quickly as possible, as the fire was just 200 metres away from a massive oil storage facility of Emirates Lube Oil Company, posing a potentially explosive hazard.

More than 50 civil defence units were dispatched to the spot, whose firefighters were backed up by the civil defence forces from Dubai, Ajman and Umm Al Quwain, as well as a specialist unit from Abu Dhabi.

Business as usual

"Sharjah Port will remain open and business will be conducted as usual," Rashid Al Leem, the Director General of Ports in Sharjah, told Gulf News. However, officials at the spot said operations were suspended for a few hours as a precautionary measure.

Brigadier Humaid Al Hudaidi, Director General at Sharjah Police, said the forensic laboratory was looking into the cause of the fire. He said the oil depot owners were not following safety procedures.

According to port workers, the blaze started in the storage facility of ERCO that mainly produced sunflower oil. More than six employees of ERCO were working in the depot when the fire broke out.

"We saw smoke coming out of the warehouse of ERCO. And then a few of those working in the company came out calling for help," said a port employee on condition of anonymity. "The port control room was notified instantly and they called for the fire fighting team".

An employee of the company said: "ERCO's cold storage and plastic container manufacturing unit are all gutted."

He further said large quantities of cooking oil stored in tanks exploded and spilled into the sea.

Damage: 'Too early to assess'

Srikanth Rao, managing director for the IFFCO Group, said of the damage: "Figures appearing in the media are speculative; It's too early to make a tangible, realistic assessment of the damage as the site it currently off-limits. Only when we have full access to the site will we be able to carry out this exercise, which we should start on Sunday [today]. However, we can say that the plant has suffered extensive damage and it would take at least two to three months to restart production. The plant refined 500 tonnes of edible oil every day."

A spokesperson for IFFCO, said: "The timely response and the unstinting efforts and skill of the firefighters have helped minimise damage and loss. The whole area is covered in thick black smoke and we could not make out what is happening." He added: "The situation is very similar to last year's fire."

- With inputs from Rayeesa Absal, Alice Johnson and Syed Bilal Shafi, Staff Reporters

I stay across the SAS hotel. Today early morning at 5:30 the blaze was still alive. and when i left for work at 8:00 there was still black smoke from the site.
Jahangir
Sharjah.,UAE.
Posted: September 21, 2008, 09:08

I saw the fire brake out on 20-09-08 early morning at 3.00am, when I got up from bed. Till (21-09-08)at 7.00am I can see from my house fire fighting going.
Aslam
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: September 21, 2008, 07:37

I went to do some household shopping with my daughter.She noticed the huge smoke first and i thought it must be some building on fire.But the smoke was getting more wilder, and the bad burning smell could be felt.So the first thing we did was to go back home and go to the website to know what was really happening around.And we came to know about this fire.
Divya
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: September 21, 2008, 07:20

This incident happened due to negligence of company management policy . They go for business and sidelined the safety and security of people and other business units . This type of bad company license to be renew only when they comply the safety
Kamal
Dubai,U.A.E
Posted: September 21, 2008, 06:58

I work in Sharjah Container Terminal located in shj port i went to work at 6:00 clock in the morning only our (SCT) peoples were allowed to enter the port because our company is at the begining of the port so i had a close view of the fire from inside. This fire is the same like the one broke out last year in shj port, civil defence engines from Abudhabi are now also seen inside the port.
Rizwan
sharjah,UAE
Posted: September 20, 2008, 12:47

My Husband (Ops manager)has been at the scene of the fire since erly morning with Manager, martin Oliver. Both are emplyed by Intermarine LTd which is based within close proximity of the fire. As far as I know, they are helping the fire/police service with their efforts to control this awful blaze..Their office has been shut along with other companies close by and it would be a disaster if this fore spreads
Cheryl
dubai,uae
Posted: September 20, 2008, 12:42

I saw the smoke from Rotana Hotel shj. I only thought it was a building on fire. Then I came to Sharjah for a class. The smoke was growing bigger. I went to the website and came to know about the fire.
Rafi
sharjha,UAE
Posted: September 20, 2008, 12:00

I work in the same group of companies which own ERCO. I could see the dark smoke from the Buhaira Corniche and when I reached Port Khalid this morning I could hardly belive it was broke out in our own company. A shocked day ahead.
Aamer
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: September 20, 2008, 11:14

I stay near Corniche street.I could see huge smoke spreading like anything.Since it was dark by the time it started,many people were not aware of this.It is the second disaster to happen since last year.
Saleem
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: September 20, 2008, 11:09

I live across the street. I was alerted by the police sirens early, since it was dark, then somebody informed me about the fire. I went there, it was really huge, with hundreds of people watching the blaze.
Faisal
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: September 20, 2008, 09:50

I saw the smoke from Dubai. I only thought it was a building on fire. Then I came to Sharjah for a class. The smoke was growing bigger. I went to the website and came to know about the fire.
Yoshua
Dubai,UAE
Posted: September 20, 2008, 09:31