Three children among five killed in Abu Dhabi crash

Three children among five killed in Abu Dhabi crash
By Rayeesa Absal, Staff Reporter GULF NEWS Published: November 27, 2007, 00:11

Abu Dhabi: Five members of a family, including three young children, were killed in a traffic accident on Sunday afternoon on the Musaffah Bridge.

Those killed included a 26-year-old UAE national A.M, the driver of the car, his 18-year-old sister S.M and his three nieces S.A., F.A., M.M. aged 11, 10 and 8 respectively. The accident involving four Abu Dhabi-registered vehicles happened at 3.45 pm.

"A 24-year-old Asian driver hit the car in front of him, probably due to speeding. This car with an Arab family hit the barrier and swerved to the next lane on the right hitting a third car with the five victims.

"The impact of the hit was so high that the third car was thrown on to the other side of the road, where traffic was flowing in the opposite direction. A four-wheel drive hit this car killing all five of its passengers on the spot," said Colonel Hamad Adil Al Shamsi, the Director of the Department of Traffic and patrol police.

Hospitalised

The driver of the 4WD, H.S, a 26-year-old UAE national, has been admitted to Shaikh Zayed Military Hospital. The vehicle he was travelling was entering Abu Dhabi while the rest of the vehicles involved in the accident were leaving the city.

"All the vehicles involved have been badly damaged," he said. Paramedics and ambulances rushed to the scene and in some cases extrication was necessary to take the victims out of the cars.

Saying that preliminary investigations to determine the cause of the accident are going on, Col Hamad added that most accidents are caused due to speeding. He urged motorists to be cautious while on the road.