Ten injured in Dubai bus crash after driver falls asleep at the wheel

The 32-passenger bus veered off course and crashed into a metal barrier on Thursday morning

Ten passengers were injured in a road accident on Thursday morning after a bus driver fell asleep at the wheel. Dubai Police

Ten passengers were injured in a bus crash in Dubai on Thursday morning after the driver fell asleep at the wheel.

The 32-passenger vehicle veered off the road before smashing into a metal barrier on Umm Suqeim Road and flipping on to its side.

Emergency services were sent to the scene at about 6am with the casualties taken to hospital for treatment for minor to moderate injuries.

Police said the driver's lack of rest before his journey had caused the accident.

"Emergency teams moved the severely injured to a hospital for treatment," said Brig Saif Al Mazroui, director of traffic at Dubai Police.

He called on transport companies to do more to ensure their drivers had sufficient sleep before undertaking journeys to be able to safely operate their vehicles.

“Companies need to communicate with their drivers and ensure they understand the importance of having plenty of rest before transporting workers or going on any journey,” he said.

“The bus driver obviously hadn’t had adequate rest or sleep, so he nearly caused the death of many people.”