Nine deaths and multiple injuries were reported after a bus carrying construction workers overturned on Sunday in Khor Fakkan. The Sharjah Police confirmed the accident, saying 73 passengers were rescued after the bus flipped over as its brakes failed.
The accident happened at Wadi Wishi Square, which is located at the entrance of the Khor Fakkan city. Emergency officials arrived at the site and offered first-aid to those rescued from the bus, before they were moved to hospitals for treatment.
Dr Ali Al Hamoudi, director of the Eastern Region Police Department, said the nature of injuries ranged from severe to minor. Dr Ali said the preliminary investigations indicate the driver lost control over the vehicle after its brakes failed.
According to social workers, the Arab and Asian men involved were all workers of a company based in Ajman. “They had travelled to Ajman on their day off to visit the company HQ and do some shopping for food items in that area,” said Saleem, a social worker with the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC). “They were returning a little after 8pm,” he added.
Saleem, who visited the workers admitted in Khorfakkan hospital, said that many of them were in a state of shock and unclear on the details. “Many … were still trying to piece together what happened.”
Another Fujairah-based social worker added that the bodies of all the deceased men will be repatriated once the formalities and paperwork were done.
In the aftermath of a tragic bus accident, nearly all of the injured passengers were quickly transported to the nearby Khorfakkan Hospital, which was just minutes away from the crash site.
A staff member, who did not wish to be named, described the response as an “all hands on deck situation,” with hospital staff and even those on leave urged to report for duty due to the severity of the incident, which was "classified as a disaster".
"Some morning duty staff came in at 1.30 am to help with the situation. They left at around 3am and then reported back for morning duty at 7. Everyone pitched in as best as they could," the staff added.
According to them, a few of the bus passengers continue to be in a critical condition. “Some of them remain in the hospital with injuries of varying severity,” the staff added. “Last night, we opened out emergency and quarantine wings to accommodate the patients. Some had escaped with just scratches and cuts but there were others with broken bones and more severe injuries.”
Many patients were then moved to other nearby hospitals including Khalifa Hospital in Fujairah.
This latest incident adds to a series of tragic accidents in recent years. In 2019, eight people were killed and six seriously injured when a van crashed into a truck on the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Road. That same year, a tragic accident killed 17 people when an Oman-Dubai bus rammed into the road height restriction barrier that ripped through the side of the vehicle.
