A container ship in Dubai has exploded into a huge fireball, sending tremors for 15 miles across the commercial hub of the United Arab Emirates.
The blaze sent up giant orange flames on the vessel which was preparing to dock at the Jebel Ali Port on the eastern side of the Arabian Peninsula - the busiest in the Middle East.
The cause of the blast is still unknown, but Dubai police said that the ship, crewed by 14 people, was carrying three containers of flammable materials.
'A fire caused by an explosion within a container on board a ship at Jebel Ali Port has been brought under control; no casualties have been reported,' the Dubai Media Office wrote on Twitter.
The combustion unleashed a shock wave through the city, shaking buildings and windows in neighborhoods as far as 15 miles away from the port where many British expats live.
Civil defence firefighters worked to control the fire at Dubai's main port of Jebel Ali following an explosion on a container ship that was carrying flammable materials
A container ship in Dubai has exploded into a huge fireball, sending tremors for 15 miles across the commercial hub of the United Arab Emirates
The port is a key part of the Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZA), a free trade area which is home to 8,000 companies and contributed 23% of Dubai's gross domestic product last year.
It is even capable of handling aircraft carriers and was the US Navy's busiest port of call outside of the United States in 2017, according to the US Congressional Research Service.
The port authority said it was 'taking all necessary measures to ensure the normal movement of ships in the port continues without any disruption', according to the Dubai Media Office.
Mona al-Marri, director general of Dubai Media Office, told Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV that this incident 'could happen anywhere in the world', but such events are a rarity in the ultra-secure Gulf emirate, one of seven which make up
