Khaberni - The General Director of the Standards and Metrology Institution, Abeer Al-Zuheir, confirmed that the heaters being investigated are locally manufactured, and this type of heaters has not been imported recently. She pointed out that no previous accidents have been recorded due to their use.
Al-Zuheir stated during a meeting of the Parliamentary Energy Committee, on Sunday, that the institution continuously monitors the factories producing this type of heaters as part of an approved regulatory plan that has been in place since the beginning of the year. This includes monitoring the production lines and intensifying market surveillance since the start of the winter season.
She explained that the institution's teams take samples from the factories to test the heaters at the Standards and Metrology Institution and the Royal Scientific Society, aiming to ensure their compliance with the approved technical specifications before they are introduced to the local markets.
Al-Zuheir clarified that the investigation results will definitively determine whether these heaters caused suffocation cases or not, noting that samples have been sent to the Royal Scientific Society to conduct the necessary technical examinations and verify the safety of these heaters.
Minister of Industry, Trade, and Supply Yaarub Al-Qudah confirmed that the government will never overlook the results of the investigation relating to suffocation incidents caused by the use of heaters, which led to fatalities.
Al-Qudah said, during a meeting of the Parliamentary Energy Committee on Sunday, that the government took immediate action by setting up an investigative committee to determine the causes of the suffocation incidents and clearly identify the reasons for the accidents.
He further explained that the ministry has banned three local factories from selling heaters proven to cause suffocation cases that have resulted in the death of citizens, pointing to the suspension of factories producing the same model of heaters implicated in the deaths, as a precautionary measure to protect public safety.
