Night of horror for residents of Buri
Manama : It was a night of horror for the residents of Buri on Friday.
Mohammd Jalal, a resident in the area, said he was chatting with some friends in the vicinity of his house, around 200 metres from the accident site, when he heard the explosion.
“I was shocked when I saw the flames rising high in the sky. I ran towards my house as all my concern was to save my family. I didn’t even feel my foot getting hurt on the asphalt as I ran barefoot. We took women and children and the elderly out and away from the nightmare. It was as if the sky was burning and raining oil,” Jalal said, describing the scene as the village sky was covered with flames and crude oil dripped.
“The sound of the explosion shook the windows and doors of the house. We saw a huge pillar of flame moving towards Al Amal Hospital, my workplace, which is not far away from where we live,” said Dr. Radhika Lekshmi. Radhika and her husband lived 100 metres away from the site.
“We spent the night here along with other residents, until the situation was brought under control. And, we returned home only today morning. It was a night of real horror,” she added, recalling the horrific moments of the accident.
The residents had removed all the gas cylinders from homes to prevent any further damage. One of the residents used his truck to remove the gas cylinders and keep them safe at an open yard, far away from the accident site, said Sayed Mohammed, another resident.
Record Time
Lt. Gen. Shaikh Rashid lauded the Civil Defence firefighters for reporting to the scene of the accident in record time of three minutes, securing the residents and swiftly extinguishing the flames.
The minister confirmed that the cooling process is now complete, mitigating any risk of re-ignition, adding that “Interior Ministry’s utmost priority is the safety and security of all citizens and residents” and that it will “spare no effort to maintain public safety”.
Effective cooperation
The situation was handled in cooperation between the Civil Defence Directorate and the Safety and Security Teams of Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco).
The effective cooperation between Bapco and the Civil Defence teams was praised by the minister, who also thanked the residents of Buri for their cooperation with the authorities in a press statement yesterday.
Bapco teams stopped the flow of oil through the affected pipeline immediately following notification of the incident, while the firemen continued their efforts to extinguish the flames, which “reached a height of 50 metres” according to Civil Defence General Director Brigadier Abdulaziz Al Amer.
Shops, vehicles damaged
Explaining more on the details of the incident, Brig. Al Amer confirmed that the initial details showed 12 houses, four shops and 28 vehicles were damaged by the scorching heat. He explained that the vehicles were unevenly damaged and that they were parked on the roads of Buri, inside home garages and on the opposite side near Souq Waqif.
“The incident was reported at around 10:16 pm and the firefighting teams reached the spot within 10:19 pm. Two pipes near the burning pipeline were cooled down by the teams. Big quantities of oil were leaked, around 1, 000 litres. A special company was hired to isolate the pipes and prevent further spilling of the oil using sand. The heat covered an area of 500 square metres,” Brigadier Al Amer added.
Area closed
Traffic police is blocking Wali Al Ahd Highway between the roundabout at the entrance of Hamad Town and the one near Buri.
Interior Ministry mentioned in its statement that “the local road network remains closed while the investigation continues, and the General Directorate of Traffic calls on motorists to take alternative routes until further notice.
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