Thursday : 12 August 2010:
4 Japanese and 1 Pakistani died in a collision accident at the Western Region
Five people (4 Japanese and 1 Pakistani) were killed in a tragic traffic accident on Wednesday evening when their minibus crashed into the back of a trailer truck carrying heavy construction equipment on the Abu Dhabi-Al Salaa Road towards Al Ghuwaifat, in the Western Region. The minibus was dragged for almost 25 metres because the trailer’s driver did not feel the impact of the crash.
Colonel Hamad bin Atheith Al Amri, Director of Highways Traffic Department at ADP Traffic and Patrols Department said “The trailer driver, who was the one to be blamed for the accident, had joined the highway at 217 kilometer point without checking for oncoming traffic. Thus the minibus hit the back of the trailer”.
“Traffic patrols and ambulance rushed to the site of the accident. Emergency crews separated the minibus from the trailer truck using heavy equipment. Then the driver and the passengers were removed from the vehicle”, added Al Amri.
Al Amri urged drivers to be cautious and to learn from others’ mistakes. It was very important for everyone’s safety on the road that drivers made sure that there was no oncoming traffic before joining the highway, especially at openings and exits, since drivers tend to speed on external roads.
In the same context, 1st Lt. Abdul Rahman Abdullah Al Ali, Director of Traffic Control Branch at the Western Region Traffic Section, who supervised the scene of the accident said “The accident resulted in the death of the four Japanese passengers and the Pakistani driver. The bodies of the first, second and third passengers were evacuated to Zayed City Hospital. The fourth passenger was taken to Al Marfa Hospital where he died on arrival at the Hospital”.