Seven killed, 13 injured in lorry-bus crash on Dubai’s Emirates Road

Seven people in this minibus were killed when it crashed into a stationary lorry in the middle of Emirates Road in Dubai. Courtesy Dubai Police

DUBAI // Seven people were killed and 13 injured when a minibus collided with a lorry on Emirates Road, prompting fresh calls from road safety experts to ban the small passenger vehicles from the country’s roads.

The bus was carrying 20 people when it hit the lorry, which was stationary in the middle of the motorway near Al Maktoum Airport about 8am on Tuesday.

“A truck, which was carrying rocks and can weigh up to 70 tonnes, was stopped on the third lane from the right because it initially crashed into a pick-up truck,” said Col Saif Al Mazrouei, director of Dubai traffic police.

“The bus driver, who died in the incident, must have been surprised to see the truck in the middle of road and crashed into it.”

Lt Col Ahmad Burqibah, deputy director of search and rescue at Dubai Police, said many of the bus passengers were trapped in their seats.

“Rescue units used hydraulic tools and shears to cut through the vehicle and extract bodies and those who were injured,” Lt Col Burqibah said.

The injured were taken by helicopter to Rashid Hospital.

Experts said the number of road deaths could be reduced if minivans were taken off the roads.

Sonal Ahuja, regional director of PTV Group, which provides software and consultancy services for traffic and transport planning, said with the high crash rate involving minibuses, they should be banned.

“In Dubai minibuses are not designed to take the speed of 140kph of Sheikh Zayed Road or Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road. They put many lives at risk and this is unacceptable.”

Simon Labbett, project director at Omani road safety body Sheida, said that the government should have a clear plan to control the use of minibuses.

“A drive along Sheikh Zayed Road will highlight the vast number of minibuses on the road and the number of people who are transported in them,” said Mr Labbett, who previously served as the director of the Transport Research Laboratory in the UAE.

But, he said: “If their use is banned then consideration will also need to include how the mobility of people will be supplemented. Is the alternative any safer?

“It is sad to state but without a clear and structured strategy it is likely that we will be considering the next minibus crash with the consequential loss of life within the next six months.”

Dubai Police chief Lt Gen Khamis Al Muzeina urged motorists to stop in a safe place if involved in a traffic incident. “People must be very careful while driving and not take the risk of driving while exhausted,” he said.

“It is important to stop in a safe zone in case of an accident, to avoid another one.”

Gen Al Muzeina said bus drivers should take extra care, abide by speed limits and keep safe distances between vehicles, because they carry large numbers of passengers. This incident is similar to a crash in 2014 in which 13 people were killed on Emirates Road after the bus driver, carrying more than 20 workers, also crashed into a stationary lorry.

Those deaths prompted calls for a ban on the use of minivans to carry people.

Maj Gen Mohammed Al Zafeen, head of the Federal Traffic Council, said that a suggestion had been made to the Interior Ministry that minivans be used only to transport equipment.

“If, God forbid, there is an accident involving a minivan, it is almost certain there will be injuries and/or fatalities,” he said at a conference last year.

“In many cases, they are overcrowded and unfit to transport people safely.”