16 Nepalese among the injured in Abu Dhabi bus crash
Top official says there are likely to be Nepali fatalities too
Abu Dhabi: Sixteen Nepalese residents were among the injured in a traffic collision in Abu Dhabi that left six people dead on Thursday morning, a top Nepalese official has said.
Of the dead five were women, one from Nepal and one from Sri Lanka, while the bus driver was a Pakistani male. The nationalities of the other three victims have yet to be confirmed.
“We received information about the collision and are currently trying to figure out all the details. As far we know, 16 Nepalese people have been injured,” Krishna Prasad Dhakal, Nepalese Ambassador to the UAE, told Gulf News.
“We believe there may have been some fatalities as well, but we haven’t been able to confirm this yet,” the Ambassador said.
The victims were taken to a number of public and private hospitals in the capital for immediate treatment.
“We are currently visiting some victims in hospital,” the diplomat said when contacted in the evening. The incident reportedly occurred at dawn on Thursday morning on Al Raha Beach Road.
According to a video released on social media by Abu Dhabi Police, a white sedan nearly stopped on the rightmost lane, forcing two lorries to abruptly slow down. A bus that was unable to slow down then rammed into the second lorry, and it is believed that the victims were passengers on the bus.
Dhakal also said a few of the victims had already been discharged after being treated for minor injuries. Information on where the Nepalese victims were employed, and their ages, is still unavailable.
A police statement released on the incident reported six deaths and 19 injuries. The nationalities of the remaining victims is not yet known.