Boiler-room workers found dead

Toxic gases are thought to have caused the deaths of two maintenance workers on duty at Palm Jumeirah.

DUBAI // Two workers died on Sunday afternoon after reportedly inhaling toxic gases while performing maintenance in a boiler room at Palm Jumeirah.

Dubai Police say the tragedy happened at a building site on the island development where construction is ongoing.

A spokesman for Nakheel said the workers, who were not directly employed by the company, were working on the Mirage Mille project.

The two men, from an unnamed Asian country, were working in the water heater power supply room where they appear to have inhaled unidentified toxic gases.

The men were dead when police arrived at the scene.

The forensic department at Dubai Police is investigating the deaths.

Ankur Singh, the operational manager at the Dana Water Heater and Cooler Factory, said most boilers in Dubai were operated by electricity, meaning no gasses are produced as a by-product.

"I cannot see how toxic gases could be the cause of death. Steam under high pressure could cause death, but the bodies would show signs of burns," he said.

"There is one type of water boiler that runs on LPG gas that could have produced a toxic leakage, but they are not at all common in Dubai," he added.

The bodies have been transferred to hospital for a postmortem examination.