Two workers at an Abu Dhabi steel plant died on Monday after reportedly inhaling noxious gas fumes during routine maintenance work on a saltwater reservoir installed in the plant.
A report in the UAE based daily newspaper, 7days, said that the Asian workers were killed at a production plant in the Mussafah area of the city. The cause of death is believed to be the inhaling of hydrogen sulphide.
A spokesperson for the company operating the plant, told the newspaper that there was an internal investigation ongoing into the tragedy, which also saw a supervisor on site admitted into hospital after inhaling the deadly gas while trying to rescue the two men.
The reservoir was used to hold saltwater that has been desalinated and is then used in the steel-making process.
It is believed that the workers may have disturbed the saltwater at the bottom of the tank, which caused the release of hydrogen sulphide, a highly toxic gas, into the enclosed area.
The gas can be found in stagnant sea water, especially if it contains sewage, oil and other pollutants that mix with it in the sea, the newspaper added.