An explosion rocked Dubai late Wednesday, sending a shock wave that went through the city shattering windows and shaking building complexes.
The site of the blast is being reported as a container ship anchored at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, one of the largest ports in the world.
A massive fire was seen erupting on the ship. The vessel sits in one of the busiest ports in the Gulf region.
Residents of the UAE city found their homes shaking as far as 25 kms away. Many filmed the fireball erupt in the night sky. Videos of the aftermath have gone viral on social media.
No immediate casualties were reported and the fire has was put out by Dubai’s civil defense teams around 2 and a half hours after the explosion. The Dubai authorities uploaded a clip of its firefighters extinguishing flaming containers.
While the exacts extent of the damage from the blast is not yet known, videos showed burnt containers, ash and debris. The cause of the explosion isn’t clear yet but the intensity suggests the presence of a highly combustible substance.
Jebel Ali Port
The Dubai port is also the busiest overseas port of call for American warships.
Serving the Indian subcontinent, Africa and Asia, it is the world’s largest man-made deep-water harbour. The Jebel Ali Port is operated by the Dubai-based DP World and can berth the world’s largest ships. It has four sprawling container terminals.
As per the Dubai authorities, the vessel involved was relatively small in size and had a capacity of 130 containers.
As per the Port authorities, all necessary measures were taken “to ensure that the normal movement of vessels continues without any disruption.”
