OMM Newsroom
Fourteen people were killed and 30 injured after a truck driver lost control and crashed into several vehicles in Fujairah, the United Arab Emirates’ interior ministry said, according to the BBC.
The crash involved 23 vehicles, including five trucks, and happened at the entrance to the eastern emirate just before midnight in “slow-moving traffic”, the ministry said.
Officials said the truck first collided with another vehicle, then overturned and struck other vehicles that had stopped in traffic. The impact caused the truck to catch fire, with the blaze spreading to several other vehicles.
Fujairah Police said the injured were taken to hospital and that DNA tests were being used to identify the victims’ bodies. Some of those killed were Emirati nationals.
The Indian consulate in the UAE said Indian citizens were also among the dead. It said it had contacted bereaved families and was working with local authorities to provide assistance and support.
Police, paramedics and civil defence teams responded to extinguish the fire, transfer the injured to hospitals and secure the scene. Specialist teams remain at the site.
Half of the injured were discharged from hospital after receiving treatment, while the others remain under medical care. Authorities said the injured are Emirati, Omani, Indian, Brazilian, Pakistani, Jordanian and Egyptian nationals.
The interior ministry and police expressed condolences to the families of those killed and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
