DUBAI // An Iraqi family were among six people killed in two horrific accidents on the Dubai Bypass, traffic authorities said today. The five family members were killed on Sunday night after their four-wheel drive car crashed into a lorry that was idle beside the highway. The accident occurred at around 11.30 pm near the Al Awir exit, as the car, which was carrying a total of seven passengers, hit the lorry. Police said the driver of the car, a 19-year-old Iraqi man, was speeding and driving recklessly, which caused the vehicle to veer to the right and hit the lorry. The car became lodged under the lorry due to the force of the impact. A Dubai Police source said: "Hydraulic cutter were used to separate the car from the truck and pull out the dead and injured." Five of the driver's relatives died at the scene. The driver and the seventh passenger were airlifted to Rashid hospital in Dubai in a critical condition. The age of the victims were not disclosed by the police but a source said they were in their twenties and thirties. In a separate incident, a Pakistani lorry driver was killed today after his vehicle overturned on the Dubai bypass road. He lost control of his vehicle after failing to notice the curve of the road. The authorities maintained that the accidents were not related to the stormy weather experienced in Dubai since Saturday. wissa@thenational.ae
