Muscat/Al Ain: The Emirati family killed in an Oman car crash on Thursday was involved in another car accident earlier the same day as they travelled to Oman on a holiday.
Originally travelling in three vehicles, the 19-member Al Darei family abandoned their third car after the minor accident. But hours later, a second crash on Al Buraimi-Sohar Road in Oman claimed the lives of nine people.
Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, on Saturday offered his condolences to Al Darei family. He visited the family at their home in Al Ain.
Tragedy hit the family on Thursday as they set off on holiday from Al Ain to Oman.
Eight Emirati family members, including a one-year-old child, and a woman of Gulf nationality, died in the fatal accident. Ten others were injured and transferred to Tawam Hospital in Al Ain for moderate to severe injuries.
The dead from Al Darei family have been identified as Swailmah Al Darei, 50; Hamid Saif, 23; Saeed Nasser, 26; Mariam Saeed, 1; Naima Nasser, 22; Falah Nasser, 21; Hanoud Nasser, 14 and Hajar Nasser, 10.
Five among them were siblings.
A relative of the family told Gulf News on Saturday how the accidents unfolded.
The group was travelling to Oman in two four-wheel drives and a sedan.
The brother of Hamid Saif Al Darei, who died in the crash, said: “The family made the trip to Oman on Thursday. They were going for a holiday together. Hamid was driving one car with his mother, brother, wife and children.
Left for repair
“He had a minor road accident so they decided to leave the car behind for repair. They all then transferred into the two remaining cars, and so they were all then travelling in two cars. This left Hamid driving one of the cars with 10 other people inside, while eight other family members travelled in the second vehicle.”
As the family’s vehicles travelled on Al Buraimi-Sohar Road in Oman, a Saudi-registered truck coming in the other direction hit a metal barrier on the road, causing it to swerve.
The trailer truck was carrying power generators and huge rolls of cable, weighing around half a tonne each, which rolled from the truck and into the path of oncoming traffic coming from the opposite direction.
The two cars carrying Al Darei family attempted to swerve out of the way of the obstacles but crashed into the road’s metal barrier.
Hamdan Al Darei, another relative of the family, told Gulf News: “I am shedding tears. They all perished in the blink of an eye. This tragic accident of Al Darei family has shaken the Al Ain community and the country.”
Funeral held
A funeral was held on Friday in Al Ain to bid farewell to the deceased family members.
Colonel Hamad Nasser Al Beloushi, Director of external roads and traffic at the Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols Directorate, said: “The truck, collided with a metal barrier and deviated to the left side of the road leading to the inability of the driver to control his truck, the fall of goods across the road and collision of two vehicles.
“Both the four-wheel drivers died following the collision. The truck was on its way from Buraimi Wadi Jizi to Sohar.”
