Alwaght- Several heavy explosions reportedly have rocked the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen television channel reported that several oil tankers have caught fire and completely burnt early on Sunday, adding that that firefighters were still trying to extinguish the blaze.
The blasts were heard between 4:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. local time (00:00 — 03:00 GMT), the broadcaster reported, adding that from seven to 10 oil tankers were in flames. The broadcaster continued by saying that the real cause of the incident has still been unknown.
Reports, citing eyewitnesses, further suggested that American and French warplanes have been seen flying over the port at the time of the incident.
The government of Fujairah denied on Sunday media reports about several heavy explosions taking place at the emirate's port, insisting that the port is functioning as usual.
"The press service of the Fujairah government denied media reports about powerful explosions in the emirate's port earlier this day and confirmed that ship traffic is as usual," the state-run WAM news agency reports.
Port of Fujairah is the only multi-purpose port on the Eastern seaside of the country and is connected to all other emirates within 300 km. The port stands some 70 nautical miles from the Strait of Hormuz.
In July 2012, the UAE began utilizing the Habshan-Fujairah oil pipeline from the Habshan fields in Abu Dhabi to the Fujairah, effectively bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
Currently, the UAE is building the world's largest crude oil storage facility in Fujairah, capable of storing up to 14 million barrels of oil.
Earlier this week, a number of powerful explosions rocked Saudi Arabia’s port city of Yanbu’, an important petroleum shipping terminal for the kingdom. Reports, however, fell short of giving any reason for the blasts or possible casualties.
