Dubai, Mar 11 (PTI) : In an bizarre incident, some cars broke down after a fuel stop at a Dubai petrol station as motorists, including Indians, claimed water was found in the tanks of their vehicles after refuelling.

At least five motorists called police to the fuel station where the motorists said they had refuelled on Sunday morning. Apparently only those who requested the super variety fuel were affected, The Gulf News reported

There were at least four stalled cars - a Jaguar, Mercedes, Land Cruiser and a minivan, the report said.

The motorists included Indians, a Westerner and an Arab.

The Dubai petrol station later confirmed an incident of water contamination in a fuel tank and promised to compensate affected motorists.

The fuel station said about 15 vehicles were affected, adding "a very thorough investigation" was ordered to ensure no contamination recurs.

A motorist, who did not wish to be named, was quoted as saying that his car stalled soon after leaving the station. He had it towed to a garage where a mechanic confirmed there was water in the tank and engine.

Another motorist said he called a mechanic over after his car broke down a few hundred feet from the station - who also blamed it on water in the tank.

Other cars' engines had also reportedly 'died' soon after pulling out of the station.

"There were a few of us on the hard shoulder of the road. We had seen each other refuelling at the station. When my mechanic came over and said there was water in the tank, we decided to tow our cars back," a motorist said.

A driver said: "The station staff ignored us at first. They should have closed down the pumps immediately after the first complaint to investigate what was going on."

"Other motorists suffered because staff did not take the earliest complaints seriously and continued to operate the pumps for at least two hours between 9am and 11am," the driver said.