Fujairah: Indian nationals are among the 14 people killed in a major road accident near Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) around midnight.
The accident occurred after a truck lost control, overturned and crashed into several vehicles, triggering a massive fire.
According to authorities, at least 30 others were injured in the accident, which occurred shortly before midnight on Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road, near the entrance to Fujairah.
Indian nationals were among those killed in the accident, the Indian Consulate in Dubai confirmed, saying that it was coordinating with local authorities to assist the bereaved families.
“The Consulate has reached out to the bereaved families and is closely working with local authorities to provide all possible assistance and support,” the consulate said in a statement posted online, AFP reported.
Described as one of the UAE’s deadliest road crashes, the accient involved a truck and several other vehicles that were caught in the collision and subsequent fire.
The truck driver lost control of the vehicle while travelling on Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road shortly before midnight, the Fujairah police said.
According to officials, the truck first collided with another vehicle before overturning and crashing into several others that had stopped because of slow-moving traffic.
“A truck driver lost control of the vehicle while travelling on the road, causing it to collide with another vehicle, then overturn and strike a number of vehicles that were stopped because of slow-moving traffic on the street,” the UAE interior ministry said in a statement quoted by AFP.
The impact caused “the truck to catch fire and the blaze to spread to several other vehicles, resulting in a heavy loss of life”, the ministry added.
While 15 of the injured had been discharged from hospital, the remaining 15 continued to receive medical treatment, the police said.
Emergency response teams, including police personnel, ambulance crews and civil defence units, rushed to the accident site following the collision.
The teams extinguished the fire, evacuated the injured to nearby hospitals and secured the accident site, the police said.
The Fujairah Police confirmed that Emirati nationals were also among the deceased, while efforts were underway to identify other victims through DNA analysis, Reuters reported.