Move FM Global News

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Seventeen people have been killed and another 9 seriously injured in a horrific bus crash in Dubai.

At least a dozen of those killed were from India. The Indian Consulate is busily engaging with relatives of those killed.

The injured were rushed to Rashid Hospital.

The bus, registered in Oman, was travelling on the main arterial road in the emirate, the extremely busy Sheikh Zayed Road.

The bus, with 31 passengers on board, was travelling between Dubai and the Omani capital, Muscat when it crashed into a signboard at the Al Rashidiya exit around 5:40pm.

Investigators say the Omani bus driver, failed to see a number of warning signs, in particular a height restriction sign.

When he finally came across it, the driver apparently swerved to avoid hitting the sign. Instead the bus struck the sign which proceeded to rip through the bus.

As with most people using the popular road, the bus driver was reportedly exceeding the speed limit.

Dubai Police later released a photo of the bus which showed where the sign had torn down the roof of the bus on the left hand side.

On Friday the Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul released the names of Indian nationals killed in the crash. They were Rajan Puthiyapurayil Gopalan, Feroz Khan Pathan, Reshma Feroz Khan Pathan, Deepak Kumar, Jamaludeen Arakkaveettil, Kiran Johnny, Vasudev Vishandas, and Tilakram Jawahar Thakur. They were aged between thirty and 50.

Eight of the Indian national killed were expats, with 2 living in Oman, and six living in the UAE. “We have been in touch with the families, police and hospital. Our officers will be available on the numbers that we tweeted. One person will be at the Rashidiya Police station and another one in the mortuary to assist the families,” Vipil said.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ireland meantime confirmed one Irish national, a woman, was killed in the crash and consular assistance was being provided to the family.

The bus company which operates the bus, an Oman-government owned company, posted a notice on Twitter  offering condolences to the families of those who died. The company has suspended  the daily E05 services between Muscat and Dubai until further notice.

The suspension of the 3 services daily was a joint decision with the Dubai RTA (Road and Transport Authority).

Dubai Police Chief Maj Gen Abdullah Al Marri described the crash as a “tragic incident that led to the death of innocent people.”

“Sometimes a simple error or negligence during driving leads to serious consequences, as happened this evening, and resulted in the deaths of seventeen people of different nationalities,” he said.