Major crash in Fujairah: 14 dead and 30 injured after a 23-vehicle collision

What happened

In the emirate of Fujairah in the UAE, late Thursday night, shortly before midnight, a major road accident occurred involving a truck and several cars. 14 people were killed and 30 more injured, reports Zamon.uz citing data from Fujairah police. The crash happened on Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road, at the entrance to the city of Fujairah.

Timeline of the accident

According to police, the truck driver first lost control and collided with another vehicle, after which the truck overturned and crashed into several cars stopped in a traffic jam. A fire broke out in the truck and spread to other damaged vehicles. The UAE Ministry of Interior clarified, according to the BBC, that 23 vehicles were involved in the accident, including five trucks, and that it happened in slow-moving traffic. The ministry noted that the truck catching fire and the flames spreading to other cars led to 'heavy human losses'.

The injured and the response effort

According to Fujairah police, 15 of the injured have been discharged from hospital, while the remaining 15 continue to receive treatment. Among the dead are UAE citizens; DNA testing is being carried out to identify some of the victims. The BBC, citing police, adds that the injured include nationals of the UAE, Oman, India, Brazil, Pakistan, Jordan and Egypt, and the Indian consulate in the UAE said that its citizens are among the dead and that it has contacted their families and is working with local authorities. Emergency services, civil defence units, ambulances and police were dispatched to the scene: they extinguished the fire, took the injured to hospitals and cordoned off the area, where, according to the BBC, specialized teams continue to work. The authorities expressed their condolences to the families of the victims.