2 die in freak accident as car hits stray camel

Two Indian employees of a foodstuff trading company died in a freak road accident on Sunday night after their pick up van hit a stray camel. 

The two salespersons of Mahr Foodstuff Trading Company were returning late night on Sunday (early morning Monday) after distributing foodstuff in the Liwa area, when their vehicle overturned after hitting a camel.

The driver seemed to have not noticed the camel on the road at that time in the night, causing the severe accident that killed the two people in the pick-up vehicle.

According to sources in the trading company, the accident occurred on Al Hamim Road.

Abdul Hamid (35) and Shamir (22), both hailing from Malappuram district of Kerala, were seriously injured in the accident and later succumbed to their injuries. The driver of the vehicle had a miraculous escape with just minor injuries.

The seriously injured accident victims were rushed to the Al Mafraq Hospital, but both the victims died the next day. While Abdul Hamid died early morning on Monday, Shameer died in the afternoon.

Abdul Hameed had been working with the same company for about 10 years while the young Shamir had arrived in Abu Dhabi only a week ago. The news of his demise saddened his family back home in Malappuram. Hameed is survived by his wife while Shameer was a bachelor.

The camel involved in the accident also died although the owner of the camel is yet to be traced. “All of a sudden, a camel was found in front of the three-tonne pick-up van, which was returning after unloading the foodstuff. After hitting the camel, the vehicle tilted and stopped after a while. The driver escaped and he helped the injured colleagues to reach hospital. His colleagues died of head and chest injuries. One person’s both legs were fractured in the accident,” said a colleague of the deceased workers.

“The driver has been released form police custody after depositing his passport. The dead bodies may be repatriated soon,” said the colleague.

According to earlier warnings issued by the police department of Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain, and Ras Al Khaima, several road accidents have been reported, especially at night, due to stray camels entering the highways. 

Lt Col Khamis Buharoon, the UAQ police director of operations was quoted that 90 accidents involving camels and vehicles were reported in 2011, leaving many victims with serious injuries.

ALSO READ:

Where will the ‘Beverly Hills’ of Dubai come up?

Which will be the next luxury car to join Dubai Police fleet?

World’s largest book, weighing 1,500kg, lands at Dubai’s Arabian Centre

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.