Dubai: Traffic came to a crawl on Shaikh Zayed Road yesterday morning as police diverted cars away from the scene of an accident to airlift a badly burned victim.
Three persons died in the accident.
It was not immediately known if the victim was the driver or a passenger in the speeding car which rammed into a stationary tow truck, a short distance from the Third Interchange.
The accident occurred around 10.25 am when the car slammed into the tow truck, which was winching up a van that had broken down. The force of the impact threw the van into the air and it landed on the operator killing him.
One of the occupants of the speeding car burned to death, while the second died as he was being airlifted, the police said.
"We still do not know the identity of the people in the speeding car," said a police official. "The collision was so forceful that the vehicle caught fire and caused the [van] to fly up and hit the Indian operator," he said.
The speeding vehicle had a Sharjah number plate, the police said.
The breakdown van had nine passengers. Three Indians and a Filipino, who were watching it being winched onto the tow truck, were severely injured in the collision.
Witnesses said the road was sparkling with shattered glass and there were chunks of shredded tyres everywhere. "There was a huge fire on the road just opposite the petrol station," said one witness. "In a few minutes the area was [filled with] sirens," he said, as police, ambulances, and fire fighters arrived on the scene.
The police cordoned off the area and diverted traffic till around 12.30 pm, witnesses said.
More than 130 people died in traffic accidents in the first six months of this year.
