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Dubai: Rescuers will work relentlessly to recover the bodies of two people who went missing in Wednesday's fire after one completely-burnt body was found last evening, according to Civil Defence officials.
Colonel Ahmad Al Sayegh, Acting Director of Dubai Civil Defence, said a body was found close to the warehouse where the explosion occurred in Al Quoz. The body has been handed to police forensic teams for identification, added Colonel Al Sayegh.
Primary investigations show there are two more missing bodies and the rescue teams will continue working to find them, said Al Sayegh, who didn't rule out the probability that more bodies may be found.
Meanwhile, Dubai's Attorney-General said they are still questioning the Asian suspect who rented the warehouse where the fire erupted and a joint team from the Public Prosecution and fire experts from Dubai Police and Civil Defence have started investigating the cause of the fire.
"We cannot yet decide on proper charges unless we find out the ... cause of the fire which could have been arson or negligence. However, we will decide on the proper charges depending on the findings of the joint team's technical report," Essam Eisa Al Humaidan, Attorney General, told Gulf News yesterday.
Questioning
Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Director of the Dubai Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said the warehouse area is very large and there are places where materials and electrical equipment are still burning and causing smoke, which is hampering the search operation.
A statement from Dubai Civil Defence said the site is under final cooling operations and the search for missing people will start after that.
"Prosecutor Nabeel Al Khadeem is currently questioning the Asian suspect. We have not pressed any official charges against him and we will not do so until the final results of the investigation are reached.
"Also as per the team's findings we will be able to decide whether the criminal law or the administrative orders have been violated.
"Eventually, we will take legal action in case of any legal violations, which will only be decided when the questioning concludes," said Al Humaidan.
Major General Al Mazeina said fire and DNA experts from Dubai Police went to the scene yesterday morning to collect samples for examination to determine the real reasons behind the destructive fire which burnt tens of warehouses.
Safety regulations
Brigadier Rashid Thani Al Matroushi, Director of Dubai Civil Defence, said they will take legal action against offenders who do not follow safety regulations at warehouses and endanger lives.
He said they will intensify surprise checkups on warehouses and labour accommodations. Colonel Al Sayegh said they have gone deep into the warehouses, opened corridors to enter, emptied warehouses and started the cooling operations to prevent materials from catching fire again.
He said the white smoke which was seen in the sky yesterday morning was due to the cooling operations and a clear evidence of control operations.
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