Fog havoc: 35-car pile-up; 2 vehicles burnt

Heavy fog is wreaking havoc on morning traffic across the UAE, especially in and around Dubai.

Office-goers are having to negotiate close to zero visibility conditions and several major accidents were reported this morning.

In the worst of them all, a major car-pile up on the Dubai bypass near Academic City as many as 35 cars were involved in the incident – though only five were seriously damaged.

Eleven people were injured and miraculously no lives were lost.

Dubai Traffic Police confirmed the accident to this website.

Also, the police said there were 418 traffic-related emergency calls between 5am and 8am.

Two vehicles were completely charred in an accident on a bypass road near the Al Ain exit, heading to Dubai.  

According to an eye-witness, a car hit a pickup and both vehicles caught fire.

“Visibility was pretty poor. Several other vehicles were involved as well. All the four lanes were completely blocked,” said Naushad Abdul Qader, a resident of Silicon Oasis.

“I usually reach my office at Tecom by 9am. Today, I managed to reach only by 9.50. Most vehicles drive on the road at around 140kmph,” he added.

The Met department has warned the foggy weather would continue for the next few days. In its forecast the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology said the relative humidity is likely to increase in Dubai, Sharjah and other coastal and internal areas during night and early morning, with mist/fog over these areas.

The weather would continue to remain relatively hot during daytime and partly cloudy at times over some eastern areas.

Two cars were also involved in a minor accident on Sheikh Zayed Road.

Motorists have been warned to drive carefully as dense fog and misty weather continue to reduce visibility across most the emirates for the second day on Tuesday.

Early morning visibility was reduced to less than ten-metres while in some it was zero visibility.

Dubai Police Headquarters urged motorists to reduce speed.

Most roads leading from Sharjah and Ajman are already slow moving. “I started about 30 minutes early today expecting this situation,” said R Reeja from Sharjah who works at Dubai Media City. 

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