Lucky escape for 35 children in Shaikh Zayed

Some 35 schoolchildren had a providential escape Tuesday when their school bus collided with a smaller passenger vehicle on Shaikh Zayed Road. According to police and eyewitnesses, the minibus stopped suddenly in the middle of the road after one of its tyres got punctured. Five people were seriously injured, five others sustained moderate injuries and nine people escaped with slight injuries in the accident, which took place at around 7.30am during the morning rush hour just ahead of the fifth interchange on Shaikh Zayed Road going towards Abu Dhabi, near the American University in Dubai. The bigger bus, which belonged to Delhi Private School (DPS), was carrying 35 students, teachers and assistants on board at the time of the crash. There were 25 people inside the bus which had blown a tyre. The accident took place as the DPS bus was heading to school after picking up pupils from the Bur Dubai and Karama areas. Five passengers were trapped inside the minibus after the crash. The school bus driver was also trapped in the driving cabin of his bus, according to Brigadier Anas Al Matroushi, acting director of the Transfer and Rescue Operations Department, who supervised the rescue operation. Brig Al Matroushi said that five patrols were dispatched immediately after the operations room received a report about the accident. Rescuers managed to extricate the school bus driver who sustained moderate to severe injuries. However, five passengers trapped in the wrecked minibus could be freed only after hydraulic cutters were employed to separate the mangled metal. The five passengers sustained moderate to severe injuries. An air rescue unit transferred a severely injured passenger to Rashid Hospital, while the rest of the injured were taken to hospital by ambulances. Major Mohammad Abdullah Khalfan, director of Bur Dubai Patrols Department, said the accident was caused by the bursting of the right front tyre of the smaller bus, which caused it to stop suddenly in the path of the school bus. The accident caused a traffic gridlock on Shaikh Zayed Road going towards Abu Dhabi. Traffic patrols soon cleared three lanes for traffic and diverted traffic from the bridge opposite the university to Emirates, Sufouh and Al Khail roads. A DPS official told Gulf News that "all the schoolchildren are safe". The school bus driver however fractured a leg and one of the teachers too sustained minor injuries. "Many people are not aware how important tyres are, although tyres are considered responsible for 33 per cent of the vehicle's safety and bad tyres are the cause of most overturning accidents, especially during the summer when asphalt temperatures can reach 70 to 80 degrees Celsius," Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Director of Dubai Police's Traffic Department, said. Meanwhile, Sharjah Police yesterday launched a tyre safety campaign highlighting the theme ‘Check your tyres - for your safety'. Colonel Sultan Abdullah Al Kheyyal, Director of Media and Public Relations at Sharjah Police, said: "During the summer months, motorists should pay particular attention to the validity of their tyres so as to avoid any incidents of their tyres exploding. Motorists should avoid overloading their vehicles and bumping into pavements or solid objects, and they should also regularly check that their windows are not cracked." From / Gulf News