The accident occurred on Dec. 29 when the maintenance technicians - three Sri Lankans and an Indian national - were fixing a leaking gas converter at a plant at the United Arab Can Manufacturing Company in the Second Industrial City at Dammam.
Of the four victims, Lionel Kudagamage, a Sri Lankan from Panadura, 40 km from Colombo, died two days after the incident, while Abdul Kareem, an Indian national from Hyderabad, was discharged from hospital following initial medical treatment.
Sarath Anilkumar Weerasinghe, 48, married with a 14-year-old son, and Anil Priyantha Suddiruppu, 42, who are both Sri Lankan nationals from Mawanella and Maharagama respectively, are still in intensive care at the Al-Mana hospital in Dammam.
The Sri Lankan Labor Counselor Nimal Ranawake, who visited the patients at the hospital on Monday, told Arab News that Weerasinghe and Suddiruppu are now out of danger but they have to undergo plastic surgery since their faces are partly burnt and mutilated.
The diplomat said that the doctors have told him that a plastic surgery was a “must” for the two victims. "The explosion was so powerful that the three Sri Lankan workers suffered severe burns," he added.
He added that the victims are well looked after by the company. "The company has even offered air tickets for the injured patients’ next of kin to travel from Colombo to Dammam.”
Regarding Kudagamage, Ranawake said the mission is in touch with his next of kin and it would respect the family’s wishes regarding the repatriation of the dead body.
Ahmed A. Al-Bhulaigah, legal counsel for the United Arab Can Manufacturing Company, said the accident was the first such incident in the 15-year history of the company.
“The company has all the safety measures in place, as demonstrated by our safety record,” he said. The injured expatriates have been workers in the company’s maintenance department for the past 10 years.
