Corpses found in Sharjah factory months after fire

Two bodies are discovered in the National Paints factory that was badly damaged by fire several months ago.

SHARJAH // Two bodies have been discovered in the National Paints factory in Sharjah that was badly damaged by fire two months ago. The bodies were found by the National Paints employees after they were given access to the buildings to start their clean-up last week. One body identified as Khurshid Ahmed, 22, from Uttar Pradesh in India, had been reported missing by a relative working in Dubai. But the second body was yet to be identified. Civil Defence at the time of the fire said there were no fatalities. The bodies have been taken to Sharjah Police Forensic Laboratory and though a police spokesman confirmed Khurshid was among the bodies found, a forensic laboratory expert from the police said they needed to do a DNA tests to identify the remains. Khurshid was working as an electrician for the National Paints. National Paints management declined to comment today. National Paints, the biggest paint factory in Sharjah, was devastated on May 11 in what authorities described as the biggest factory fire in the emirate. It took more than seven hours for fire-fighters all over the country to control the fire, but after two days the blaze resumed and it started again for a third time after five days of cooling. An employee of National Paints said that the chemicals could have covered the odour of decomposition. "Even if they had smell [them], they would just think its chemicals," he said. [e-mail]