Muscat: Fireworks intended for Oman’s National Day celebrations exploded due to a technical error near a public gathering in the allocated celebration area of Amerat province on Wednesday night. There were no casualties.
An emergency meeting was held by the Higher Committee for National Day celebrations to discuss the incident and to take actions.
The committee had set up fireworks displays to celebrate the 44th National Day in Amerat, Halban and Salalah provinces.
Large crowds were expected to attend the events.
Shaikh Sabah Al Saadi, the secretary general of the Higher Committee for National Day celebrations, said that the incident occurred when one of the fireworks went into the air and then descended without exploding, which led to a defect in the control system.
This in turn led to a random explosion, spreading terror and panic in the audience.
Al Saadi told a local daily newspaper Al Shabiba that the committee has prohibited the company handling the fireworks from engaging in any tenders and called on other government agencies not to deal with it. The committee also called on the Royal Oman Police to investigate the incident, and the company’s commitment to safety standards.
Gulf News contacted a witness, Salam Al Wahaibi, who escaped along with family to a remote area when the incident occurred.
“There was a massive explosion in the area. Everyone was panicking but luckily no one sustained any injuries”, said Salam.
Meanwhile, Royal Oman Police (ROP) fined a number of drivers for putting lives in jeopardy while recklessly celebrating the national day on the roads.
An official at the ROP told Gulf News that official had made tremendous efforts in organising the traffic movement nationwide during the day.
Marches were organised nationwide, leading to traffic pile-ups in the capital and elsewhere.
Many residents called on authorities to manage such problems in future by putting certain conditions to hold marches.