Expat dies after being swept away in Oman flash flood

Muscat : An Indian expatriate was swept away in a flash flood caused by rains that drenched Oman on Thursday night and Friday, according to the Royal Oman Police here yesterday.

A group of workers from the Al Nasr Trading and Contracting Company were stranded in Wadi Al Jafnain in Al Athaiba in the Bausher district of Muscat when flash floods caught them unawares late Thursday night, said a spokesperson for the Royal Oman Police (ROP) yesterday.

Remedio Bento Fernandes, a 61-year-old worker, however, got swept away. The ROP spokesman added that his body was later recovered by police from near a filling station close to Sultan Qaboos University, some 25 kilometres from where he was washed away.

Over the weekend, Muscat experienced heavy rains and most of the waterlogged roads caused traffic jams. Several vehicles were flooded with rainwater and had to be towed away, the police spokesman said.

Trapped

Shops, banks and restaurants in the busy commercial district of Qurum suffered heavy losses as rainwater flooded their premises. The ROP air wing rescued several people caught in flash floods due to water coming down from the mountains.

"We succeeded in rescuing four persons trapped in their vehicles in Wadi Adei," said the ROP spokesman.

In the province of Al Amerat, ROP officers rescued a number of people trapped inside their cars and in Bausher police pulled out about 30 people trapped in their vehicles in Wadi Al Jafnain and Wadi Al Ansab. The rain also caused a fire in an electrical and plastic materials factory on the Ghala Industrial Estate but Civil Defence personnel controlled the blaze and no casualties were reported. The damage to the unit is being assessed.

The ROP renewed calls for residents to follow directives broadcast over the media and stay indoors, unless in the event of an emergency, so as to avert traffic jams. It urged motorists to steer away from swollen wadis and low-lying areas. It also warned fishermen and seafarers not to venture out to sea as rough conditions prevail over the coast.