Abu Dhabi road horror leaves 3 dead, 284 injured
In what seems to be the worst accident to be ever recorded in the history of the United Arab Emirates, more than 200 cars were involved in a massive pile-up on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai Road that according to early estimates might have claimed three lives.
About 284 people were also reported injured, 15 were in critical condition and 67 had sustained moderate injuries. The dead included two Indians and one Sudanese national.
The injured, some of them in critical condition have been rushed to the Khalifa Hospital. Rescue teams from Dubai and Abu Dhabi swung into action immediately as ambulances, helicopters and patrol cars were rushed to the scene.
Police sources have blamed poor visibility condition brought about by the fog for the crash.
Two eyewitnesses on the scene of the mishap recounted the tragedy as it unfolded before their eyes. Zeeshan Javed a regular commuter on the stretch says that he just escaped ‘by a whisker’ as the cars in front of smashed into each other. “It was a big pile up. I personally counted about eighty cars that had been wrecked beyond recognition. Even though emergency units were quick to respond the fact remains that there have been casualities. I have never seen an accident of this magnitude. Some cars that had caught fire were charred beyond recognition. This has to be the worst ever.”
Mobi Sher another commuter said that he was stuck in the traffic jam as a result of the accident for almost four hours. “The scene was absolutely ghastly. All around me the cars were lying in a massive wreck.” While the poor visibility conditions have been blamed for the mishap, Sher said that the presence of oil residue from cars on the road probably contributed to the massive pile-up. “I have noticed that most motorists tend to speed on this stretch and that could contributed to the entire mess. It was horrific.”
For Imad Eldin it was a nightmare that had come rather early in the morning. Eldin who travels to Dubai everyday to his job in Al Quoz cannot bring himself to talk about the horrendous scenes he witnessed. “There were cars littered all over, ambulance sirens wailing, it was absolutely unreal. I was stuck in the same spot for three hours. I saw people sitting motionless in front of their steering wheels. There were others that were lying on the road and still others with injuries waiting to be attended to by the paramedics. I hope they were alright though the cab driver kept insisting that they were dead. It is terrible. I personally saw about eight completely wrecked vehicles. I had only heard about these tragedies, but today I have seen one for myself. I wish I hadn’t.”
Gaza rocket hits Israel, breaking lull
JERUSALEM - A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hit southern Israel on Tuesday just hours after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited the area and cautioned residents not to expect a lull in Palestinian attacks to last.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the rocket strike, the first against Israel since Sunday, saying its “battle against occupation is continuing”.
Such attacks have tailed off sharply since Israel ended a Gaza offensive eight days ago and Egypt stepped up truce mediation efforts. Israel has not raided the Gaza Strip since the five-day assault that killed some 120 Palestinians.
A police spokesman said the rocket fell in open ground south of the major Israeli city of Ashkelon, causing no injuries.
A few hours earlier, Olmert visited Ashkelon, hit by longer-range rockets during a recent surge of violence, and told residents there were no guarantees Katyusha salvoes from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip would not resume.
“Don’t think it was a one-time experience,” Olmert said about Katyusha attacks that put Ashkelon within range of rocket-launching squads in the Gaza Strip, seven km (four miles) away.
Israeli officials gave no indication whether the military would respond to the latest rocket strike. A spokesman for Olmert said Hamas, in charge of the Gaza Strip bore overall responsibility for attacks from the territory.
“We have no illusions as to the extreme, violent and hateful agenda of Hamas,” spokesman Mark Regev said.
Hamas Islamists, who seized control of the Gaza Strip from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction in fighting last June, have been holding their fire against Israel for the past seven days.