Burst tyre may have caused bus driver to lose control

The ill-fated UAE-registered bus which collided head-on with a Turkey-registered refrigerated bus in Jordan had a total passenger manifest of 24 and two drivers when it left Sharjah City.

"It took aboard one more passenger, a Syrian, in Saudi Arabia," explained a spokesman for Al Barout Public Transport in Sharjah, which manages the bus.

More passengers boarded the bus in Jordan.

"As soon as we received the report of the accident we spoke to the Jordanian police and our bus driver who had broken his leg; our spare driver could not be reached as he sustained serious injuries," he added.

Police and civil defence spokesmen in Jordan told Gulf News over the telephone the injured, including the UAE national, were rushed to Al Zarqa Government Hospital.

The critical cases were transferred to Al Hussein Medical City and Al Faisal Hospital. Some were also being treated at Al Hikma Private Hospital.

The list of those injured included: Bassam Ahmad Al Khooli, 22; Mohammed Ali Hussain, 33; Mohammed Adel Shaker, 42; Ahmad Mohammed Maktabi, 21; Mohammed Ali Bakri, 22; Ahmad Mohmoud Al Ahmadi, 44; Namat Mustafa Al Raeeni, 52; Safa' Ahmad Qabalan, 30; Mira Ali Bakri, 12; and Soma Abdul Kareem Khirat, 30.

Others injured as quoted by the Jordanian civil defence authorities were: Mahmoud Abdul Aziz, Yasser Abdul Aziz, Hussein Asa'd, Mustafa Abdul Rahman, Ra'fat Mohammed, Farag Mohammed, Mohammed Al Lidnawi, Hussam Khalil, Ayman Tahsin, Ibrahim Rashid, Ahmad Ali, Ragheed Mohammed, Mohammed Amin, Jihad Adli, and a child who could not be identified.

The spokesman for the Sharjah-based mass transport meanwhile explained the accident was precipitated by a tyre-burst on the left front wheel, causing the bus to veer out of control.

He added a company representative has been sent to Jordan and will be back today with more details on the accident.