With just two days left for the grace period to come to an end, utter chaos and confusion prevailed at the Deportation Center in Jeddah yesterday where thousands of expatriate workers descended to record their biometrics.

The huge backlog from Sunday only added to the woes of those expatriates who were scheduled to record their fingerprints yesterday, and they had to sweat it out in the open with humidity reaching unbearable levels.

The authorities attributed the huge backlog on Sunday to the six-hour power failure. Sunday was the scheduled day for recording of biometrics of Egyptian and Sudanese nationals, but the power failure brought the process to a standstill.

Illegal expatriates, meanwhile, were hoping that the authorities will extend the grace period beyond the July 3 deadline. Their hopes soared after Col. Meshaal Al-Harithy, director of the deportation center in Jeddah, made repeated announcements over loudspeakers urging hundreds of Sudanese nationals who had gathered at the center to return Friday.

Several other officials also asked expatriates who had come to the center to record their biometrics to return next week.

Confusion prevailed on Sunday when hundreds of angry Egyptian workers refused to budge from the Deportation Center despite the power failure. They slept in the premises and began recording their biometrics once the systems were restored. Egyptian officials expressed helplessness in convincing their nationals, most of whom hail from rural areas, to leave the premises and return the next day.

Thousands of Pakistani and Sri Lankan expatriates landed at the center on Monday, their scheduled day to record their biometrics. Among the Sri Lankan applicants were 800 women who were allowed to go in only after 2 p.m. to record their biometrics while the men were asked to return next week.