Nine lorries and a bus in Sharjah pile-up

Eight people where injured in a major road accident involving nine trucks and a bus carrying workers.

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SHARJAH // Eight people were injured when nine lorries and a bus were involved in a crash, described by police as one of the most serious accidents to occur in Sharjah this year. The accident happened yesterday when a water tanker travelling at high speed crashed into a bus carrying workers on the Sharjah to Dhaid road, according to police. The workers' bus then swerved into a concrete barrier before coming to rest in the middle of the road. Eight more lorries travelling at high speed were unable to stop in time and piled into the wreckage. The injured men - mainly Indians and Pakistanis - were air-lifted to Al Qassimi and Kuwaiti hospitals. Although no one died in the crash, Sharjah Police said it was one of the most serious large-scale road accidents to occur in the northern emirate. As emergency services, including rescue helicopters, headed for the scene, drivers and passengers from other vehicles helped to pull the injured from the wreckage, witnesses said. One motorist, who did not wish to be named, described how three men struggled to drag an unconscious passenger from the wreckage of one of the lorries. "It's a miracle everyone got out of that alive," he added. "When I saw the remains of all those big vehicles piled up, my first thought was that several people must have been killed. It probably would have been a different story if those who were not injured had not jumped so quickly to the aid of those who were." Police said five of the injured men were taken to Al Qassimi Hospital, and the remaining three to Kuwaiti Hospital. The accident occurred on the Sharjah to Dhaid road between the third and fourth bridge. "It all started when a water tanker, coming from the central region, driven by Pakistani Mohammed Kamran, 30, collided with a workers' bus," said an official. "Eight more trucks coming behind him piled in [to the tanker] as they were also driving at a high speed. Nine trucks in total were involved in the accident." Six people in the bus were injured, including the driver, Mohammed Akbar Khan, 39, whose injuries were described as severe. Police said the injured workers all were staying in the country illegally. An officer at the scene said he would report to his superiors who would then decide whether to file charges against the illegal workers and their employers. A 30-year-old Pakistani, identified only as Hussein, who was driving a lorry that crashed after the initial accident, suffered serious injuries. Traffic on the road from Dhaid to Sharjah was delayed for about 40 minutes as police removed the damaged vehicles. Yesterday's crash came just a few months after the General Directorate of Sharjah Police mounted a road safety campaign aimed specifically at lorries and buses. The campaign raised safety awareness by distributing brochures in Arabic, English, Urdu and Hindi to drivers of heavy goods vehicles. A senior police official has appealed to all drivers in Sharjah, particularly those in charge of lorries, buses and other large vehicles to observe traffic rules and avoid speeding. ykakande@thenational.ae