Loud explosion sparked fire in Dubai’s main port

It was a fire in a container inside an anchored ship in the main port of Dubai, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as reported by the emirate’s press service in a tweet on Thursday, after an explosion that was felt throughout the city.

“The fire is under control and there were no deaths or injuries following the incident in the port of Jebel Ali”, reported the Dubai government communications team, which showed video of firefighters putting out the flames.

An agency correspondent AFP He detailed that at least three residents of the area where the explosion occurred reported that the doors and windows of their houses were violently shaken by the explosion on Wednesday evening.

Various people in Dubai posted videos recorded with their mobile phones on social media that showed a huge fireball lighting up the night. Residents of neighborhoods as far as 25 kilometers away felt the blast around 11:45 p.m., the agency clarified PA.

The extent of the damage to the port and surrounding cargo was not immediately clear.

Jebel Ali Port is one of the largest in the world and the largest in the Middle East. Much of the world’s oil circulates there and serves cargoes from the Indian subcontinent, Africa and Asia. Operated by Dubai Ports World, based in Dubai, it has four sprawling container terminals that can dock some of the largest ships in the world.

DP World, the world’s fourth largest port operator, describes the port of Jebel Ali as a “gateway” and a “vital link in the global trade network” connecting the markets of the East and the West.

In 2009, the collision between a freighter and a ship carrying liquid gas also caused a fire in the port which was quickly extinguished without causing any casualties.

With information from AFP, AP and EFE

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