Junction where Emirati family died in car crash 'notorious black spot'

Omani police in the southern town of Salalah are still investigating the cause of the accident which killed seven family members on Monday.

Members of the Emirati family killed in a car crash in Oman mourn at the Al Foah Graveyard in Al Ain. Jeff Topping / The National

SALALAH, OMAN // The junction where seven Emiratis died in a car crash on Monday is a notorious accident blackspot, according to local residents.

Police officials in the southern town of Salalah are still investigating the cause of the accident, but a witness on the Mughaisil road said a lorry ploughed into the Emirati family's Land Cruiser, causing it to roll before colliding with a red saloon car travelling on the opposite carriageway.

"The road entering this junction slopes down, and the trailer came down at high speed and could not stop in time," said Ahmed Mohsin, a resident of Salalah and a retired civil servant. "It hit the Land Cruiser that was already on the road."

"The junction is notorious and a major cause of accidents in the area and it is not for the first time people have died on that spot."

Hospital officials confirmed that all passengers were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident.

The lorry was driven by a Pakistani national, who broke a leg. The driver of the red saloon, an Omani police officer who was off duty, survived but his infant son died.

Oman is struggling to reduce the rate of road accidents, with police blaming careless, speeding drivers.

There were 4,177 road accidents in Oman in the first six months of 2012, up 14.7 per cent on the same period last year. The number of deaths was 539, up 20.3 per cent.

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