Rain spell leads to an accident every two minutes

Dubai: Dubai saw an accident every two minutes during the recent rains, police reports said.

Two people were killed and one injured in a collision between two trucks and two cars on Al Khail Road on Saturday morning, while police reported more than 1,400 minor accidents in just over two days of rain.

The Command and Control Room of Dubai Police received 700 minor accidents reports on Thursday, the first day of the rains.

There were another 500 reports on Friday and Saturday police received more than 100 reports from 5am until 9am. At a conservative Dh1,000 in repair expenses per accident, the two days would cost the insurance industry Dh1.4 million.

All the accidents resulted from speeding and failure to leave a safe distance between vehicles, compounded by low visibility.

First Lieutenant Omar Mubarak, the duty officer at the Command and Control Room, said accidents during such weather happen when motorists ignore road conditions.

Brigadier Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Director of Dubai Police's Traffic Department, warned that driving in special weather conditions need more precautions because speeding might cause the vehicle to slide with loss of control.

He said a vehicle going at 60kph needs to be kept at an approximate distance of 35 metres from the car in front to avoid accidents.

In another report, a teenage UAE national was fatally electrocuted at a sports club in Ras Al Khaimah in a rain-related accident on Saturday.

A senior police officer from the emirate said Sultan Khamis, 16, was playing football with a group of friends at the club.

After the match was over, a jubilant Sultan whose team had won the match approached the switchboard at the playing area to put off the lights in the field.

Sultan sustained a fatal shock as soon as he touched the switches and died on the spot, the officer said.

He blamed the electrocution on a short-circuit that happened because of the recent rain. The teenager's friends immediately alerted police, but it was too late to do anything.

Police have launched an investigation, saying that the club did not take basic safety precautions following the rain and had left electrical installations exposed to the elements.