Ibri accident probe on, says Oman police official

Oman Wednesday 02/March/2016 21:33 PM
By: Times News Service
Ibri accident probe on, says Oman police official

Read also: Drivers in Oman raise safety concern after Ibri crash
Muscat: While five bodies out of 18 still remain unidentified, police officials said until the investigation is complete, the reason behind Tuesday’s tragic accident on the Ibri-Fahud road cannot be ascertained.
The accident on Tuesday claimed 18 lives when a bus headed to Dubai from Salalah and a truck headed to Salalah from Dubai met with an accident.
“Efforts are on to identify the bodies,” the police official said, adding that the reason behind the accident could not be determined at the moment.
“We cannot say whether its tyre burst or something else happened at this moment. Only after a probe is completed can we say for sure what caused the tragic accident,” the official added.
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So far, 13 bodies, including those of six Omanis, four GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) nationals, two Pakistanis and one Yemeni, have been identified.
Out of the six bodies lying in the Nizwa hospital, two remained unidentified till Tuesday evening. However, the authorities identified them as those belonging to Omanis on Wednesday.
“The bodies are of Omani brother and sister hailing from Salalah. Authorities are in touch with their families,” Nizwa hospital officials said.
The two accident victims admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and now out of danger.
According to medics, nine bodies, including those of two Pakistanis and one Yemeni, are kept in the Ibri hospital and three, including one Omani and two GCC nationals, are in the Bahla hospital.
Meanwhile, the friends of two Pakistanis, who were killed in the accident, said they are still in shock.
“I came to know about the accident early morning. As I was located in Salalah, I alerted the camp office near Fahud. They then assisted with the rest of the procedure,” Sohaib Tahir Arain, an official from the company where the two Pakistani victims were working, said.
“One guy had returned just three days ago after vacation and was returning to the camp to join duty. Another guy had come to Salalah to renew his resident card and was on his way back to duty. Sadly, we lost them both,” Arain added.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Sadhik, another official at the same company, said he was on his way to another location and after he got a call from the camp about the accident, he took a detour to the accident site.
“By the time I reached there, the police rescue team, including helicopters were present at the scene. They were seen shifting the injured and the dead to hospitals. I tried to call our workers’ cell phone, but it was not ringing. So, I was a little doubtful and worried. I alerted our people at the Ibri office to check with the hospital and within an hour, one after another, it was confirmed that two of our workers had lost their lives in the accident,” Sadhik added.
Nizwa sources said the families of the victims had taken the bodies to their villages for burial.

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