Fourteen people were killed and 30 injured in a pile-up involving 23 vehicles on a major road at the entrance to Fujairah emirate in the United Arab Emirates, shortly before midnight.
The crash happened on Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road, when a truck driver lost control, hit another vehicle, then overturned and caught fire, Fujairah Police said. The flames spread to several vehicles that had stopped in slow-moving traffic.
Eighteen cars and five trucks were involved in the collision, police said.
Some of those killed were Emirati nationals, and DNA tests are being used to identify some of the victims. The injured include nationals of the UAE, Oman, India, Brazil, Pakistan, Jordan and Egypt, and the Indian consulate said Indian citizens were among the dead.
Fifteen of the injured have been discharged from hospital, while 15 remain under treatment, according to the UAE Interior Ministry, which also expressed its condolences to the families of those killed.
The crash comes weeks before new UAE traffic regulations are due to come into force, which will raise the minimum driving age to 18.
Source: BBC News, The National, Arabian Business
The featured image is illustrative only, not a photo of the actual crash.
