Thirteen labourers were killed and more than a dozen injured early yesterday when their bus ploughed into the back of a lorry.
The tragedy happened on Dubai’s Emirates Road soon after 6.30am
Nine of the dead were from India and four from Bangladesh. The nationality of the other two victims is unknown.
The injured are being treated at Al Baraha Hospital and in Rashid Hospital, Oud Metha.
The tragedy happened near exit 50 of Emirates Road, shortly after 6.30am. The lorry driver had stopped on the hard shoulder and told police he had done so because he feared the vehicle’s brakes weren’t working properly.
Lt Col Ahmed Atiq Burqibah, Deputy Director of Rescue at Dubai Police, said: “It’s definitely the biggest accident so far this year.
“So many people died and so many others were injured. It was a big disaster.”
It’s thought the bus carrying the labourers, which was travelling towards Abu Dhabi, had been straddling the hard shoulder to the right and the motorway’s outside lane.
It hit the stationary lorry and skidded for 8m before flipping over and sliding a further 5m.
A spokesman for the Indian consulate in Dubai confirmed that nine Indian nationals had died in the crash, with a further two injured.
“The consulate is in touch with the survivors and will provide all necessary assistance to them,” a spokesman said. “We will also facilitate the dispatch of the remains of those killed.”
The Bangladeshi consul general, Masood Al Rahman, said four of the country’s nationals had been killed in the collision.
“We are visiting hospitals and working with authorities to get more information on this,” he said.
The nationalities of the remaining two victims have yet to be confirmed.
Five people who suffered minor injuries in the crash were later discharged from Al Baraha Hospital.
Twenty-one people died last February when a lorry hit a bus of 45 labourers.
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(via ahlanlive.com)
