Housemaid killed, 3 injured in villa gas cylinder explosion
ajman — An Ethiopian maid died and three other maids sustained minor to serious injuries in an explosion caused by a gas leak in the kitchen of a villa in Al Jarf area, Ajman. The loud boom of the explosion caused panic in the residential area and also damaged the villa severely.
One of the maids, also Ethiopian, is undergoing brain surgery, while the third Ethiopian maid is reported to be in a stable condition and the fourth, an Indonesian, has been discharged from hospital after treatment.
Rashid Muglad, Director-General of the Ajman Civil Defence, said their operations room received a call from the neighbourhood’s residents, reporting the loud sound of the explosion. A team of firefighters and a rescue unit from Al Jarf fire station were dispatched and reached the site in under two minutes. The leak occurred in the gas cylinder inside the kitchen, when it collapsed while cooking was underway. The rescue team removed three maids from under the rubble, but the fourth had died in the spot. The police rushed the three surviving maids to Khalifa Hospital and shifted the body of the deceased to the morgue.
The civil defence has handed over the site to the forensic department to investigate the cause of the leak and subsequent explosion. Lt. Col Mohammed Al Gafly, Director of Al Jarf police Station, said the deceased Ethiopian maid has been identified as 47-year-old S.Y.W.
“The strong impact of the explosion caused the walls of the kitchen to collapse over the maids, when they were carrying out domestic work,” Lt Col Al Gafly said.
Top officials in Ajman urged residents to ensure the quality and validity of their gas cylinders, clean the stove burners regularly, ensure the safety of the gas and stove connections and keep their kitchens adequately ventilated.
Residents are also advised not to store their gas cylinders in the kitchen, and to keep it in a ventilated area to prevent gas from building up in an enclosed area in the event of a leak.
The strong impact of the explosion caused the walls of the kitchen to collapse over the maids, when they were carrying out domestic work,” Lt. Col Mohammed Al Gafly, Director of Al Jarf police Station