Abu Dhabi: One of the two children admitted to the intensive care unit after sustaining injuries in a bus accident on September 29 was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday.
The 13-year-old boy is in stable condition, and was discharged from the paediatric ward at Mafraq Hospital, a representative at the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha), told Gulf News.
The other child, a 13-year-old girl, is expected to be discharged later this week, the representative added.
Both the children, students of Belvedere British School, sustained serious injuries in the last week’s accident involving three buses. They were headed to school on the bus when the accident occurred. The collision also involved another bus from Al Dhafra Private School, as well as a public transport bus. As reported by Gulf News, the incident left 47 people injured, including 39 children.
However, only two children were admitted to intensive care for their injuries. The other injured passengers were either treated on the scene, or brought for treatment to Mafraq Hospital, a public facility managed by Seha, and discharged within a day or two.
Kellie Jetson, principal at Belvedere, said she was happy that most of the children involved in the accident had returned to school.
“There were 24 children on our bus that day, and only six had to stay overnight at hospital. Everyone else returned home,” she said.
School authorities at Belvedere also visited the two children in intensive care last Saturday.
Traffic officials reported that the collision had occurred because the buses had been speeding, and had failed to maintain safe distances between them. Asked if any action would be taken against the driver involved, Jetson said the school is awaiting the results of the ongoing police investigation into the incident. “We will follow any recommendations made by the authorities but haven’t heard from them as yet,” she said.
The accident occurred around 7.30am on Khaleej Al Arabi Street, while the buses were headed to the respective schools located in Mohammad Bin Zayed City.
Following the incident, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, wished the injured students a speedy recovery. Officials from the Crown Prince’s Court, and from the emirate of Abu Dhabi’s education sector regulator, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec), also visited the injured children and their families.
“According to Adec’s private school regulation, buses and other vehicles transporting students need to be equipped and compatible with a number of technical specifications and security standards. Schools are not allowed to hire bus drivers unless they have the required permits and years of experience in driving medium to large buses,” the Adec said afterwards in a statement.
