Tributes paid to duo killed in truck crash

Abu Dhabi: "I am devastated beyond words, but there is no escaping death. It just strikes," said Haji Mohammad Daraz, who lost both his father and cousin in Wednesday's fatal traffic accident along the Abu Dhabi-Tarif highway.

Mohammad's father Mir Daraz and his cousin Rasul Daraz were having breakfast at the Al Mansoori restaurant at around 9.30am when a truck, loaded with iron bars, rammed into the small roadside restaurant.

The truck veered off the road, travelled about 100 metres and crushed two cars parked in front of the restaurant before crashing into the building, claiming five lives.

While four people were killed at the scene, the other succumbed to injuries late on Wednesday, officials told Gulf News. Eight people were injured in the crash and are still in hospital.

"I was shocked to hear about the accident because the restaurant is several metres off the road," said Mohammad.

"Everything that happens is God's will and nothing more," he said.

Mohammad added that the bodies will be taken back home to Waziristan in Pakistan for funeral services. He spent yesterday at his accommodation in Musaffah, where compatriots swarmed in to offer condolences.

‘Kind person'

Both 49-year-old Mir and 25-year-old Rasul were employed as drivers. All five victims were Pakistani nationals. At least four worked as drivers.

Mir's friend, who worked with him for over 10 years, described him as a "calm and kind person who never picked a fight".

Colonel Hamad Adil Al Shamsi, Director of Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols, said initial investigations revealed that the accident had taken place following a loss of concentration by the driver.

The truck driver, an Indian, was seriously injured, he added.

The injured were taken to Al Mafraq Hospital, Shaikh Khalifa Medical City and Zayed Military Hospital.

The truck belongs to a Sharjah-based transportation company and the driver was coming back from Qatar, said Al Shamsi.

He appealed to the owners of transportation companies to educate drivers to take ample rest if they felt fatigued.