Cheers as power restored to war-hit town

Power returned to the homes of Umm Qasr today for the first time since the outbreak of war.

A load cheer rang through the streets of the tiny, run-down town as electricity flowed through what passes for the mains in a small group of houses.

It was the second boost of the day for the 35,000-strong population as clean water also began pumping in to the town.

The first power surge was a test run and electricity was being restored to the rest of Umm Qasr, the first town to be freed of the Saddam Hussein regime, during the morning.

It means lights, and even fridges, can work again for the war-hit people and, perhaps more importantly, street lighting.

Prior to the war, Umm Qasr was powered by the Iraq national grid but that was unreliable and tended to switch off if demand was too high.

Major Taylor believes the power source was cut by officials in Basra in the days before the land offensive began, leaving the people without power, as well as water, for almost two weeks.

His team moved in to the power station on the docks as soon as the British and US forces captured the strategic town.

Warrant Officer Daren Larmour, 35, from Bracknell, Berkshire, UK said: “Everything had been shut down and was covered in dust.

“There had been looting, especially the batteries to start up the generators.

“However, the port is not that old and a lot of it was only built in the ‘80s so we were always optimistic that we could get the power back on.”

Major Taylor added: “We came here with the job of restoring power to the port and getting that up and running but implied in that was bringing the power back to the town as well.

“It is about helping them to help themselves. In the long term there is a lot of repair work still to be done but we are here to provide the skeleton system.

“The hope is the people themselves can sort the rest out.”

Some of the former workers of the port are already beginning to return.

They are seen as brave men as many still live in fear of repercussions from Saddam’s forces as they will be seen as helping the coalition forces.

Rashid is one such man and was too frightened to have his photo taken.

He is a machine fitter and has been helping the British Engineers bring the power station back on line.

His English was very broken and a sense of foreboding was never far from his eyes.

“Power to the town is good,” he said. “Town needs power. Happy there is power.”

The other Engineers first involved in the work are Lance Corporal Dan Williams, 27, Staff Sergeant Barry Law, 32, from Sussex, and Major Jeremy Holman, 34, from Kent.

The team now numbers around 20 men and is working to establish full and reliable power both to the town and port but today was a major breakthrough, both for the people of Umm Qasr and the image of British soldiers worked there.

An official switch-on in front of the world’s media is expected tomorrow.