Fri, Mar 29, 2024 | Ramadan 19, 1445
Published: Tue 26 Jul 2016, 2:38 PM
Last updated: Tue 10 Jan 2023, 5:08 PM
Seven people were killed and 13 injured after a minibus crashed into a heavy truck parked on Emirates Road, behind Al Maktoum Airport in the direction of Abu Dhabi, on Tuesday.
According to the police, the accident took place at 8am when the minibus driver did not notice a heavy truck had stopped on the third lane, after it was hit by another car, and rammed the van into it.
The police and rescue team rushed to the site and used hydraulic cutters to rescue the passengers who were trapped inside the minibus. The 13 injured passengers, who sustained serious to minor injuries, were rushed to Rashid Hospital.
Colonel Saif Muhair Al Mazroui, director of the general department of traffic at the Dubai police, said the accident occurred when the driver of the heavy truck transporting stones stopped the vehicle in the middle of the road after another accident involving a pick-up van. The minibus, which was carrying workers crashed into the back of the truck, leading to the casualties, including that of the driver of the minibus.
He attributed the cause of the accident to the heavy truck driver who stopped in the middle of the road after the first accident, and also to the minibus driver who did not concentrate on the road.
Major Ahmed Atiq Bu Ruqaiba, director of the search and rescue department, said they had already launched an investigation into the cause of the accident.
Lieutenant-General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police, called on drivers to be cautious to ensure the safety of other road users. In case of accidents, vehicles should be stopped in a safe and designated place, he said, urging drivers to leave enough space between vehicles.
Friends and relatives mourn the death of their dear ones at the Rashid Hospital in Dubai.- Photo by Juidin Bernarrd
The rescue operations were led and supervised by Major-General Khalil Ibrhaim Al Mansouri, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police for Criminal Investigation; Jamal Al Banai, Deputy Director of the Traffic Department and other officials.
Three of the injured in critical state
Among the seven people who died in the early morning traffic accident on Tuesday morning, six were Indian nationals while the driver was a Pakistani.
Twenty employees of Al Shafar Steel were, as per their daily routine, travelling to work in the company’s 32-seater bus when the accident happened.
Currently four of the 13 injured are being cared for at Rashid Hospital. ?The rest have been discharged after being given initial treatment.?
A statement from the hospital said: “As of noon on Tuesday, four patients were brought into the hospital, one via air ambulance. Three patients? are in a critical state while one is serious.”
A company source told Khaleej Times that most of those who died were sitting at the back of the vehicle. ?They were engineers and heads of departments within the company?, he said.?
The source said that the driver had been with the company for the past seven years and had no previous records of any accident.
“We were informed that a truck had hit a wrongly parked vehicle on Emirates Road and both vehicles were stopped in the middle of the fast lane,” he said. ??”The driver of the company bus was caught unaware.” The injured have their families with them at the hospital.
The source also said that the company was providing all financial and legal support required at this time.
Adil Ali
‘I do not know how to inform my family about my brother’s death’
The driver of the vehicle has been identified as 34-year old Pakistani national Adil Ali, from Punjab.
According to several friends of the victim, he had been working in the company for the past 12 years.
Ali’s friends who had gathered at Rashid Hospital said that he got a call from a friend of the victims from Pakistan who alerted him of the incident, and the driver’s death.
At the forensic laboratory, the victim’s brother, Gasim, was in a state of shock, and refused to accept that Adil has passed away.
Gasim told amid tears that his brother had been taking care of the entire family, which includes four brothers, one sister and his mother. Their father passed away some time ago.
“He brought me here one year ago and I am alone here,” Gasim told Khaleej Times.
“I do not know how to inform the family, my mother. She loved him so much. He is so caring. He used to call his mom every day at 9pm to make sure they are okay.”
“He was a very professional driver and has even driven people to Ras Al Khaimah and other places,” Wajid Alim, a friend, said.
“He was always smiling and making other people smile,” another friend, Shujat Ali, said.
Company officials told Khaleej Times that they help repatriate the bodies once they have been properly identified and certificates issued.
amira@khaleejtimes.com
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