Khaberni - Khaberni - Chaired by Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, Yarub Al-Qudah Sunday morning an emergency meeting was held at the headquarters of the Standards and Metrology Organization, to monitor the actions taken regarding gas heaters, which some varieties of caused asphyxiation incidents resulting in the death of 10 people.
The meeting, held more than 48 hours after the incident, discussed ways to enhance monitoring of factories and commercial stores, with intensified field inspection campaigns to ensure market compliance with precautionary decisions and the ban on selling heaters involved in the precautionary measures, pending technical inspection results.
The Standards and Metrology Organization confirmed that it has banned three local factories from selling the heaters they produce, after suspecting a link to some fatal asphyxiation incidents, and noted that by Saturday evening more than 5000 heaters were seized, and samples of them were sent to the Royal Scientific Society for comprehensive technical inspections.
The organization emphasized that this type of heater has been produced locally for years, is not imported from abroad, and this places the full burden of monitoring on local authorities. It pointed out that these goods, given their sensitivity, are subject to strict regulatory measures before and after entering the market, asserting no leniency with any violations of approved specifications.
In turn, the Public Security Directorate confirmed that all recent asphyxiation incidents involved the use of the same heater, popularly known as "Al-Shamouseh", emphasizing the need to immediately stop using it, pending the final technical reports.
It was noted that joint field teams seized the heaters from factories, shops, and even from citizens' homes, and all samples were sent to the Royal Scientific Society to analyze the causes of asphyxiation and identify faults.
These governmental actions come amid escalating parliamentary demands for accountability of those responsible for the entry of this type of heaters into the market, where a number of MPs have called for the dismissal of the Minister of Industry and the director of the Standards and Metrology Organization, considering that the safety of citizens should be above all else, and what happened highlights a clear failure in prior monitoring of highly dangerous products.
