(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Twelve others including the minibus driver who survived the crash received severe to moderate injuries and were taken to rashid and al baraha hospitals in dubai.
a fatal accident along the busy emirates road has left 15 workers dead when the minibus they were travelling in rammed into a parked truck on the hard shoulder.
at about 6.25am on saturday the bus carrying 27 passengers slammed into the stationary truck before rolling several times eventually landing on its roof about eight metres from the impact site.
while 13 of the passengers died instantly two later succumbed to their injuries in hospital. twelve others including the minibus driver who survived the crash received severe to moderate injuries and were taken to rashid and al baraha hospitals in dubai.
a statement from the dubai police said the workers were asians. a hospital source told khaleej times that the deceased were indian and bangladeshi nationals.
with both drivers said to be pakistani the 40-year-old driver of the parked truck has been detained and will be referred to the prosecution today while the injured minibus driver will be questioned upon his recovery.
taking charge of the accident site was dubai police commander-in-chief major-general khamis mattar al mazeina and the crash was said to be so severe that a team comprising dubai police air wing dubai ambulance and police patrols had to use hydraulic cutters to remove the bodies of the workers.
a preliminary examination of the accident scene carried out by the dubai traffic prosecution department in conjunction with the dubai police showed the minibus driver was driving in the right hand lane and hard shoulder when he slammed into the stationary heavy truck. the report stated that the truck’s rear left tyre was just touching the yellow line.
head of the dubai traffic prosecution salah bu farosha al falasi said the minibus’s front right side smashed into the rear left side of the truck causing the minibus to veer from the right lane to the second left lane before rolling several times. “the truck driver claimed that a brake failure had forced him to park on the roadside” al falasi said.
the driver also said he had placed a fire extinguisher at the back of the truck in order to warn oncoming traffic of his position.
in a separate statement a dubai health authority (dha) spokesperson said the rashid hospital trauma centre received 10 patients with severe to moderate injuries while baraha hospital director dr obaid al khudaim said six workers with minor injuries were treated and discharged from the hospital on the same day.
the indian consulate in dubai confirmed nine of the deceased were indian citizens. “all of them are from the state of bihar. their families have been informed by company executives and they are taking care of things. the consulate is facilitating all procedures for a smooth repatriation of the bodies” a spokesperson told khaleej times.
he said a consular official was sent to the hospital to assist the company in carrying out the necessary procedures. two of the injured are also indians. “they were already discharged and we don’t know much about their whereabouts at the moment” he added.
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