Ajman Municipality said leakage in a sewage pipe had caused water contamination in a residential tower in the UAE emirate over the weekend of Eid Al-Fitr, which saw more than 190 residents of the building falling ill.
The news comes a day after HH Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman and Chairman of Ajman Executive Council, ordered several departments of the Ajman Government to submit a detailed report on the deplorable incident.
According to local daily, Khaleej Times, acting director of the health and safety section at Ajman Municipality, Humaid Al Mualla, said that the contamination had occurred in one of the building’s underground tanks, adding that the authority immediately took necessary measures after identifying the source of contamination.
Al Mualla added that teams at the municipality had closed all of the building’s tanks and pipes to clean and sterilise them.
“After the sterilisation works, we instructed the tenants to leave the taps open to drain any contaminated water,” he added.Â
On 9 June, Ajman Police said on Twitter that the residents had suffered fevers and intestinal bleeding due to water contamination.
State-held news agency, Wam, reported earlier this week that the committee formed by the Crown Prince would produce an in-depth report on the cause of the contamination.Â
Residents of the building felt the water smelled like sewage and had changed colour, with children also being affected by the incident, a Gulf News report on 8 June stated.Â
