Abu Dhabi: Eight boats moored at the Marina bay in Abu Dhabi caught fire in the early morning hours of Monday, said Civil Defence authorities.
The fire, which began at 3am, broke out in two boats and quickly spread to another six boats. The speedy response of the Civil Defence authorities helped contain the fire, thus saving 211 boats and 23 jet skis from damage. No human casualties were reported.
Lt Gen Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, personally supervised the firefighting operations as nine Civil Defence teams from different locations were deployed to bring the fire under control.
Maj Gen Jasem Mohammad Al Marzouqi, general commander of Civil Defence, said that the team did its utmost to ensure the fire did not spread to neighbouring boats. The eight boats which caught fire were segregated from the rest docked in the Marina to prevent the fire from spreading as the firefighting got under way.
Lt Col Mohammad Abdul Jalil Al Ansari, director-general of Civil Defence in Abu Dhabi, said: “As soon as the fire was reported, we moved to the scene.
“With the help of all nine teams, the fire was extinguished and thank God no one got hurt,” Lt Col Al Ansari added.
The primary concern of the authorities was evacuating civilians from the scene, and the police closed the roads leading to the accident site, thus preventing the public from approaching the area.
Maj Gen Al Marzouqi called on all yacht owners to abide by safety regulations.
The cause of fire is under investigation.
- Aseel Lulu is a trainee at Gulf News
With inputs from WAM
