Thursday, September 9, 2010

One man died and 38 people were injured in a 20-car pile-up in Dubai.

The horrific accident happened early yesterday morning during fog and police have blamed it on motorists speeding and not paying attention.

The dead man was the driver of a bus that smashed into a lorry on the Jebel Ali to Lehbab road about 6.30am.

The man and the 30 labourers onboard survived the initial crash, however he was killed when a cement mixer ploughed into the back of his vehicle a few seconds later.

The rest of the vehicles then crashed as they either failed to see the accident or tried to avoid the wreckage.

Three people were in a critical condition at Rashid Hospital last night as a result of the smash, which came almost two years to the day since a 60 car pile-up that has been described as the worst crash in the UAE’s history.
 

Driver is killed in multi-car pile-up

Police say careless driving to blame for accident

A 20-car pile-up in the fog in Dubai killed one person and left 38 injured yesterday - almost two years to the day that a similar accident claimed the lives of three people.

The crash has led transport bosses and traffic police to issue fresh warnings to motorists to slow down and drive carefully when visibility is impaired.

The accident happened about 6.30am on the Jebel Ali to Lehbab road near the roundabout with Emirates Road.

Weathermen said that visibility was down to 300m.

“The foggy weather and drivers speeding and not paying attention caused a series of accidents,” said Colonel Anas Al Matroushi, the deputy director of the Transport Operations Room in Dubai .

The pile-up started when a bus carrying 30 labourers collided with a lorry.

Although the driver survived this crash, he was killed when a cement mixer crashed into the bus seconds later.
“It was foggy and the driver of the cement mixer hadn’t seen the accident,” Al Matroushi said. “The bus driver died at the scene.”
Other vehicles then crashed as they had either failed to see the accident or were trying to avoid it.

Emergency crews were called to rescue trapped motorists, who were taken to Rashid Hospital.

The trauma unit confirmed that one person had died and that three people were in a critical condition.

Officials from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) diverted traffic following the accident.

Hussain Al Banna, the director of the traffic department at the RTA, said: “People have to be cautious while driving due to foggy conditions. We’ve been warning people on this issue.”

The accident happened the day before the second anniversary of the biggest traffic accident in UAE.

Three people were killed and 317 injured in a pile-up involving more than 60 cars on March 11, 2008, on the Dubai to Abu Dhabi road.

The accident also happened in foggy conditions, with speeding and not paying attention to blame.

Forecasters have said that more fog is expected over the coming days.

ali.shouk@7days.ae