Clean up operation at Port Khalid to be completed soon

Sharjah Port officials assure that the unbearable odour caused by last month's fire at Port Khalid will be cleaned up within two days.

Rashid Al Leem, Director General of Ports in Sharjah, told Gulf News that the Environment Department at the port is currently working on cleaning the air pollution in the area and the clean-up would be completed within three days.

The municipality also contributed to the port's clean-up by removing the polluted sand, according to Hassan Al Tafak, Head of the Environment Department at Sharjah Municipality.

The massive fire broke out at the Emirates Oil Refining Company, a sister company of International Food Stuffs Company, which manufactures and markets a wide range of consumer products including oil, flour and fats.

Although the fire was extinguished after nine hours, the putrid odour of the aftermath persists. Workers at the port complained that it was very difficult to breath in such unbearable conditions.

Sharjah Police have not yet been able to determine the cause of the fire, and is continuing its investigation.