AJMAN, 11 April 2007 — Two trucks containing 300kg of confiscated fireworks went off in Ajman yesterday killing two workers and injuring two policemen.
Ajman Khalifa Hospital sources said several people, including children, were injured by the blast. A source at the Ajman Civil Defense said the two truckloads of firecrackers, confiscated following a court order, were to be destroyed but exploded accidentally.
Police sources told Arab News that the firecrackers were confiscated a month ago and they were going to destroy it after the court order. Two expatriate workers, who were helping us died. Investigations are under way to determine the cause of the accident.”
The explosion happened in the Al Jarf locality at Ajman’s Industrial area around 11.20 a.m. “We heard a loud blast at around 11.20 a.m.,” said Shareefa, a housewife who stays around 20km away from the blast spot. Several other residents in the Ajman town also said they heard an explosion.
An eyewitness, who do not want to be named, said that he found two huge holes in the blast area, and wrecked vehicles.”
Meanwhile, two Pakistani boys died after their frantic mother threw them from an eighth floor balcony after their apartment caught fire in Sharjah on Monday evening.
“The fire broke out at their apartment, apparently, due to an electric short-circuit, while the woman and her children — aged two and three years old — were inside. The fire spread through the hall blocking their exit. As the fire spread, the mother panicked and threw her children from the balcony,” police sources said.
Onlookers, who had gathered in front of the building, watched in horror as the woman threw her children. Eyewitnesses said people tried to catch them, but were unable to do so. The younger boy died on the spot while the older one died at Sharjah Kuwaiti Hospital. “It was a desperate act of a mother to save her boys’ lives,” said police sources, adding that the 30-year-old mother was rescued by emergency services using a crane. The woman suffered serious burns and is in intensive care at a hospital in Sharjah. Sharjah police said they are investigating the case.
