DUBAI, Mar. 27 (WAM) - At least eight people died early today when gates at the Dubai Drydock collapsed permitting uncontrolled flooding of the dock basin, according to a statement issued by the Dubai Drydocks company. "Eight workers are known to have died in the incident and 31 are presently unaccounted for," the company statement said. It said that at approximately 09:00 local time (O500 GMT), two panels of dock gate No. 2 ruptured as work was being carried out, permitting uncontrolled flooding of the dock, which continued for more than an hour. The statement said that five vessels were in the dock "suffered varying degrees of damage which is currently being assessed." The vessels were a 57,000 dead weight tonnage oil tanker, a cargo ship, two barges and an oil rig. ''The cause of the accident is being investigated by the Drydock Safety Department and Dubai Police,'' the statement added. WAM/TF