A 29-year-old mechanic who died in a gas cylinder blast at a Dubai car showroom last week was planning to get married later this year, according to his relative.
Cameroon national Nkeng Lord Boris Ekangwo was among two people killed on Monday, August 3, after a fire at car showroom located in Al Quoz caused a gas cylinder to burst.
“He had a fiancee and they meant to get married by the end of this year,” his relative Nkeng Lionel Nze told Khaleej Times in an email. “He will be greatly missed for the love he showed to everyone. He always made people laugh.”
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Ekangwo, who worked as an auto mechanic, had been with The Car Superstore for only a few months as a temporary worker. The other person killed was an Indian expat, identified as SP, a 27-year-old multimedia marketing specialist at the company who had married last year.
‘He would have turned 30’
Ekangwo would have celebrated his 30th birthday on August 8. “He [Ekangwo] was born in 1996, so he would have turned 30 years old,” Lionel said. “He was a loving, caring, respectful, very hard working and jovial person.”
The Consulate General of the Republic of Cameroon told Khaleej Times that it was a close friend who reported the death of Ekangwo.
The consulate confirmed that Ekangwo had been in the UAE since 2019. “He was a mechanic who loved his job with passion,” Lionel said. “He was very good at what he did always putting his job first.”
The youngest of five siblings, Ekangwo is survived by three of his sisters. “They were two boys and three girls,” said Lionel. “Unfortunately he lost his brother in September 2024. Now only the three sisters remain in the family.”
Showroom temporarily closed
Lionel said that Ekangwo had a good heart. “He was always willing to lend a helping hand in his own little way,” he said. “Anyone who came across him, will remember his humility, selflessness, resilience and above all his fun nature.”
Meanwhile, The Car Superstore has remained closed since the incident. The showroom announced on social media that it was temporarily shutting down, while a customer service representative confirmed it would remain closed until further notice.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the incident. Dubai Civil Defence shared that the fire was brought under control within an hour of it being reported and the site was secured.
Ekangwo’s family is still waiting for his remains to be repatriated to Cameroon for burial. The Cameroonian consulate had earlier said it was working closely with the family to arrange the repatriation.
“We extend the deepest and most heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family, relatives, friends, and the entire Cameroonian community in the UAE,” the consulate wrote in a statement.
