DUBAI // Workers salvaged bags, batteries, tiles and charred remains of electrical equipment from the still-smouldering cargo piled up on Deira Creek jetty a day after a fire ripped through two dhows and damaged a third.
An estimated 150 tonnes of debris – ranging from refrigerators, burnt blankets and foodstuffs – will be cleared off the wharf once Dubai Police complete their investigations into the cause of Monday’s fire.
The blaze gutted two boats that sunk into the creek after Civil Defence fire fighters battled the flames for close to three hours. The flames also consumed cargo stacked in cartons and sacks on the dockside.
One seaman is being treated for first-degree burns at Rashid Hospital, while three firefighters were treated for dehydration.
Workers, some wearing safety gloves, gathered blackened electrical parts while others loaded their bicycles and cars with satchels and trolley bags.
A fire engine trained its hoses on the wreckage that continued to smoulder.
“Only when we remove the debris before taking it to the landfill will we know the final weight but we estimate it to be 150 tonnes on the jetty alone,” said Yaqoob Al Ali, head of Dubai Municipality’s specialised cleaning section.
“The food will be destroyed because the heat was so strong the food items have spoilt. We have ordered lorries to remove colas, juices, vitamins and food items. Owners have been told to select the rest that was not burnt.”
Civil Defence officials said the site was handed over to the Dubai Police and Customs department for investigation.
Fire engines were at the scene as a precaution to ensure the wreckage did not catch fire again. Traders said they were devastated by the extent of the damage. “We lost fridges, batteries, light fittings,” Razak Abdulla said. “Some people will sell to scrap dealers to get some money for the burnt metal.”
The boats, due to sail to Iran, were not insured. Cargo handlers said owners rarely insured goods because of the high costs.
Boats ferry merchandise, including vegetables, fruit and clothes, vehicle spares and cars to and from East Africa, Pakistan, India and around the GCC.
“Small companies don’t take insurance, they cry about how business is difficult so why will they pay more money?” said Mustafa, from Moosa clearing agency.
“They say the goods are not of high value and they cannot afford to pay insurance on this.”
Some traders were agitated at not being given more time to remove what remained of their goods from the dock.
“We have valuable sanitary ware under thousands of metal bits and we cannot get to it,” said a trader, who did not want to be identified.
“We are not allowed to get a forklift in here, so we need more time to clear what is on top and get to our goods underneath.
“I understand they [authorities] are worried because there is smoke and poisonous fumes so they want us out but after so much losses, we have to try to get to items that still have some value.”
Major clearing operations, including lifting the boats from the creek, will begin once police investigations are complete.
rtalwar@thenational.ae