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28 March 2024

Emirates Road Crash: Safety officer's wife, child had just arrived

Published
By VM Sathish

Arun Raj was one among those who met a tragic end in the road accident, which claimed seven lives and left 13 others with injuries, on Emirates Road behind Al Maktoum International Airport on Tuesday morning.

Raj, who was a safety officer, was all set to stamp the residency visa of his young wife and daughter this weekend.

The 33-year-old, had his own car, but preferred taking company transportation to avoid driving the long distance from his residence in Abu Shagara in Sharjah to his office in Dubai Investment Park area.

“Raj was ready to settle his wife and one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. He had just taken a new apartment in Abu Shagara,”said Rajeev Kumar, a relative of Raj.

“He was working in Saudi Arabia for about seven years, but since he wanted to live with his family, he relocated to Dubai. His wife was scheduled to have her residency visa stamped on Thursday,” recalled Kumar.

They were married for four years. His wife, Krishna, 25, is a civil engineer and was looking forward to taking up a job in Dubai.

Kumar, who is helping repatriate the body, said, “I have seen his body and it was not easy to identify all the victims.”

Raj, the second son of Rajendran Pillai and Suma hailed from Kerala, India. One of his brothers is based in Sharjah.

The accident

The accident occurred at 8am on Tuesday towards Abu Dhabi, according to a police source.

The police source also said that the truck had stopped in the middle of the road (third lane) after colliding with a pick-up. Lack of attention by the omnibus driver, who did not leave adequate room while driving, resulted in the omnibus crashing into the rear of the truck.

Policemen, rescue teams and ambulances, rushed to the accident spot, and the injured were taken to the nearby hospitals.

Some of the passengers sustained severe injuries and had to be transferred in a helicopter to Rashid Hospital, while those who suffered moderate injuries were taken by ambulance cars, the source from Dubai Police added.

The bodies of the dead passengers were extricated from the bus.

Lt. Col. Ahmad Atiq Burquibah, Deputy Director of Dubai Police’s Search and Rescue Department, said, "Rescue teams had to extricate all those injured in the crash and the bodies of the dead passengers stuck in the bus. The team used hydraulic tools and shears in the process."

The Commander of Dubai Police, Lt Gen. Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, has called on motorists to be cautious on roads, urging them not to risk their lives when they are fatigued. He also asked them to park in a safe area in case of a traffic accident in order to avoid a collision.