One dead and 17 injured in car accidents in Dubai

Five accidents occurred on Thursday, one on Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday, said Col Saif Al Mazrouei, head of traffic at Dubai Police.

DUBAI // One person died and 17 others were injured in car accidents in the past week in Dubai, police have said.

The accidents listed by Dubai Police occurred from Thursday to Sunday. Last week, the UAE weather centre had warned motorists about low visibility in certain areas due to fog and haze.

Six accidents occurred on Thursday, one on Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday, said Col Saif Al Mazrouei, head of traffic at Dubai Police.

The victim of the first accident died at the scene due to severe injuries, in a run-over incident at about 9pm on Thursday on Al Maktoum Bridge in the direction of Bur Dubai, police said. The same day, five people sustained moderate to severe injuries and were taken to hospital, after an accident in which a vehicle swerved on Al Khail Road.

Also on Thursday, an Asian man on a motorcycle sustained serious injuries after colliding with a vehicle on Al Abraj Road. In a separate incident the same day, an Asian child was seriously injured after being run over in Al Badiya area. The boy was taken to hospital.

A person – whose nationality was not specified – sustained moderate to severe injuries in a similar run-over incident on Thursday at 8.30pm on Baniyas Road, police said.

Another person was injured on Thursday when two vehicles collided on Sheikh Zayed Road at 10.45am, near Al Manara Bridge in the direction of Dubai.

The accidents continued at the weekend. On Friday, at about 6am on Al Qudra Road, five Asians – the driver and four passengers – were severely injured when their vehicle ran off course and crashed into pavement.

A lorry loaded with sand was burnt completely after it crashed on Al Khail Road towards Latifa Bridge on Saturday at 11.30am, police said. The lorry driver sustained moderate injuries and traffic leading up to the bridge was blocked until the lorry was removed.

Also on Saturday, two people from Asian countries were severely injured after being run over, in an incident on Sheikh Zayed Road towards Abu Dhabi. A vehicle collided with another, leading one to swerve to the left, hitting the two expatriates.

On Sunday, an Arab motorist sustained severe injuries in a collision between two vehicles at 11.20am on the secondary road coming from the vegetable market, leading to the Chinese market, Col Al Mazrouei said.

The same day, Abu Dhabi Police had blamed fog for a crash between a workers bus and a lorry that killed an Arab expatriate. Seven Asian expats sustained minor injuries in the incident, which occurred on the Abu Dhabi to Al Sila Road and prompting warnings from police about driving in fog.

Ras Al Khaimah Police, meanwhile, said on Monday that there has been an improvement in traffic safety levels in the first nine months of the year compared with the same period last year in the emirate. There have been 45 deaths due to road accidents so far this year, compared with 56 last year, a 19.6 per cent decrease.