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Dubai Port Fire 'Under Control' 


Smoke rises from a container ship anchored in Dubai's Jebel Ali Port as emergency services try to contain the fire, in Dubai, UAE, July 7, 2021.
Smoke rises from a container ship anchored in Dubai's Jebel Ali Port as emergency services try to contain the fire, in Dubai, UAE, July 7, 2021.

A fire on a ship preceded by a loud explosion in Dubai's main port was under control by Wednesday night, authorities said.

"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," Dubai's Media Office wrote on Twitter.

Witnesses as far as 20 kilometers from the port — the largest transshipment hub in the Middle East — heard the explosion, the cause of which was not immediately known.

The explosion was a "normal accident," Media Office Director General Mona Al Marri told Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV, which also cited Dubai police assessments that "friction or high temperatures" in the hot summer months might have caused the explosion.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.

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