3 die as car crashes into Dubai restaurant

July 27, 2013
Dubai, Jul 27: Four people died and three have been left seriously injured following two separate car accidents in the UAE over the last 48 hours, with one intoxicated driver losing control of his vehicle and ploughing through the window of a restaurant in Al Barsha 3 area.

car1In the early hours of Friday, a 21-year-old Angolan national, driving a car on an expired driving licence, killed two restaurant workers on-the-spot and injured three others when his car spun out of control from the right side of the road, before ramming into the restaurant, Head of Dubai Traffic Public Prosecution Salah Bu Farousha said.

A third worker who sustained several injuries as a result of the impact later died in hospital. The driver has admitted to being under the influence of alcohol and a 21-year-old Brazilian lady, who was also travelling in the car, had a lucky escape with medium injuries.

All six workers were in the restaurant’s kitchen when the crash happened.

The Operations Room of Dubai Police received a call at 2.40am on Friday about a car that crashed into the restaurant in Dubai and police patrols from the Bur Dubai police station as well as public prosecutors rushed to the site.

Upon investigation, it was learned that the car was being driven at a high speed minutes before the accident took place and the driver, who was not injured, was referred to the Traffic Public Prosecution.

The police have launched an investigation into the incident and videos from several road cameras, which photographed the moments leading up to the deadly crash, will be used to identify the cause of the accident.

In a separate accident on Thursday evening, a 24-year-old Emirati man, identified as S.A.K., died following a collision between two cars in Daqdaqa city, Ras Al Khaimah.

According to a senior official, the 55-year-old motorist of the second car, identified as S.B.T., is to blame for the accident.

Director of the Traffic and Patrols Department of the Daqdaqa Comprehensive police station, Captain Salem Burgiba, said the victim tried hard to avoid colliding with the second car, but failed. “He collided with such an impact with the second car that he sustained serious injuries.”

Upon being alerted of the accident, the Central Operations Room immediately dispatched a number of traffic patrols to the scene along with ambulance and rescue teams.

“The young man was shifted to the nearest hospital where he succumbed to his injuries,” one official confirmed.

“The second motorist, however, only sustained minor injuries, and received first aid assistance on the spot.”

The accident file was then referred to the RAK Traffic Prosecution for legal action.

“All motorists are urged to abide by traffic rules and regulations for the safety of all road users,” the official said.

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Agencies
March 1,2020

Paris, Mar 1: Most of the riders and teams taking part in the abandoned UAE Tour, and who had been quarantined in their Abu Dhabi hotels since Thursday after a coronavirus scare, were cleared to leave the country, sources said.

"The pleasure of going home after several days spent at the hotel," tweeted 2018 world champion Alejandro Valverde, one of the top stars of the race along with Chris Froome, the four-time winner of the Tour de France.

"We are doing well and soon we will fly to Spain."

However, there was confusion over how many competitors and officials will be allowed to leave.

All 133 cyclists who were still in contention as well as team members were tested after it was announced by organisers Thursday that two Italian staff members on the race had tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

Earlier Saturday, the UAE Tour, quoting health officials, said that 167 people had been tested and all were negative.

The Department of Health-Abu Dhabi were "still monitoring the condition of the remaining cases of contacts, whose lab testing findings will be available in the next few hours."

The UAE Tour cancelled its last two stages on Thursday after the coronavirus cases were confirmed.

Danish cyclist Michael Morkov of the Deceuninck-Quick-Step team, who took part in the first four stages, was placed in isolation in his hotel room after arriving in Berlin to take part in the world track championships.

However, on Saturday, he too was cleared to take part.

"The rider present in Berlin is currently in excellent health, with no suspicious clinical signs, and we are also guaranteed that he has not contacted the two members of the management of a team participating in the UAE Tour, originally suspected of coronavirus," governing body UCI said in a statement.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

Beirut, Aug 4: A massive explosion has shaken the Lebanese capital of Beirut, with a very high number of casualties expected.

A warehouse at the Beirut Port caught fire on Tuesday afternoon, triggering a huge explosion, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Several smaller explosions were heard before the bigger one occurred.

Abbas Ibrahim, the head of Lebanon’s General Security, said that “highly explosive materials” confiscated earlier had been stored at the site.

Footage shared on social media captured the moment of the bigger explosion, with a colossal shock wave seen traveling fast across several hundreds of meters and shrouding the area in thick smoke.

The blast left enormous material damage to the surrounding buildings and structures. But it was not immediately known how big an area was affected.

There was also no immediate casualty count. Graphic amateur video from the scene showed bodies strewn on the ground, with their clothes blown off.

The NNA said rescue operations were underway. Ambulances were seen heading toward the scene in central Beirut.

Lebanese LBC television channel quoted Lebanon’s Health Minister Hamad Hasan as saying that the blast had caused a “very high number of injuries” and “extensive damage.”

Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud said an unspecified number of firefighters dispatched to extinguish the initial fire had been killed in the explosion.

“As they were putting out the fire, the explosion took place and we’ve [lost them],” he said, breaking down on live TV.

The explosion comes at a time when the Arab country is passing through its worst economic and financial crisis in decades, and amid rising tensions with Israel.

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News Network
May 18,2020

Abu Dhabi, May 18: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has recorded a special message for Indian expats in the UAE as the country fights the coronavirus pandemic.

Khan - one of the biggest stars of Bollywood for decades - enjoys a large fan following in the Gulf, which is why Abu Dhabi roped in the actor to record a special video message for expats, urging them to cooperate with authorities in the capital and the country as they carry out sanitisation and testing programmes.

In the video, tweeted by the Abu Dhabi Media Office on Sunday night, the superstar appeals to Indians in Abu Dhabi to become heroes by staying home (stepping out for essential work/errands only), following precautionary measures and simply 'do the right thing' by getting tested if they have any Covid-19-related symptoms.

Khan, who has shot his recent super hit films (Race 3) in the capital, assured expats that Abu Dhabi authorities will not leave the community in these challenging times as it is a hospitable city who takes care of all residents.

"Following preventive measures also protects your family from the virus - so do the right thing as heroes do," Khan concludes.

The second phase of Abu Dhabi's sanitisation and testing in labour areas is underway, which started on May 16. Special testing facilities have been set up in the city for this purpose that test thousands of workers everyday.

As of May 17, UAE has confirmed over 23,000 cases along with over 8,000 recoveries and 220 deaths.

The country recently made a breakthrough in treating Covid-19 by using stem cells to help with the recovery.

The UAE leadership has thanked citizens and residents for their cooperation and assured that the country will take care of everyone in the country - with food and medicines being the red line, and that there will be no shortage of either during the crisis. Stimulus packages have been announced to help businesses stay afloat.

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