Dubai: 34-vehicle pile-up on Emirates Road leaves 4 injured as dust storm hits country

In a rare mega collision, at least 34 vehicles on Dubai’s Emirates Road piled up near Al Qudra Bridge heading towards Sharjah after a massive dust storm hit the country on Monday, Police told local broadcaster Gulf Today. Four were reported injured. The accident caused traffic congestion across the entire stretch of the long road for several hours. Drivers involved in the accident had complained of low visibility as the cause of the accident. Brigadier General Saif Muhair Al Mazrouei, Director of the General Traffic Department said that the Command and Control Center management had answered the emergency call that reported multiple collisions between several vehicles that were later unable to drive to a safe distance. 

In an advisory, Brigadier Al Mazrouei appealed to the vehicles to exercise caution while commuting in the bad weather and adhere to the road safety protocols. He also urged the drivers to reduce the speeds and drive keeping a safe distance from other cars while on road and avoid overtaking, jumping signals, or changing lanes. The Dubai police, meanwhile, cautioned the drivers to not use high beam lights on the road that could obstruct vision for other vehicles. It also asked the car drivers to use windshield wipers for clarity of vision during the dust storm. Speaking to the local media outlets, the police officials said that tailgating and distracted driving was among the cause for the accident. Authorities stressed the need for compliance with the traffic rules and regulations.

5 vehicles pile up in Moscow

Earlier similarly, a massive road accident had occurred between five vehicles, a Kamaz truck, two passenger cars, a military vehicle inspection minibus, and a firing unit from the S-400 Triumph system on Mozhaiskoe highway in the Moscow region. In a statement, Moscow Region's Main Directorate press service said that the pile-up was reported at about 08:00 Moscow time on the 42nd km of the Mozhaisk highway. No casualties were reported. In the videos that emerged online, the S-400 missile system was seen crashing into the bigger convoy while other vehicles screeched to a halt at some miles' distance. The damaged vehicles involved military traffic police minibus, anti-aircraft missile system S-400 Triumf, a Kamaz truck, and at least two cars.