12 Indians among 17 killed in Dubai accident

At least 12 Indians were among the 17 people killed in a horrific bus crash in which a tourist bus coming from Oman rammed into a signboard in Dubai, the Consulate General of India (CGI) said here on Friday.

The tourist bus was carrying 31 passengers of different nationalities and crashed in to the signboard at Al Rashidiya exit at 5.40 p.m. on Thursday.

Earlier, eight Indians were reported dead in the accident.

Consul General of India to Dubai Vipul told the Khaleej Times that the death toll of Indians in the accident later rose to 12. "We have confirmed 12 Indian deaths in total. Our teams have been working with the respective Dubai government departments to ensure paperwork is completed as soon as possible," he told the daily.

Repatriation of the bodies is expected to begin on Saturday or Sunday, said Vipul.

The Consulate General of India tweeted that it "is in touch with relatives of some of the deceased and awaits further details for others to inform their families".

The Consulate has also mentioned the names of some of the Indian victims. "The names of those who have passed away are: Rajagopalan, Feroz Khan Pathan, Reshma Feroz Khan Pathan, Deepak Kumar, Jamaludeen Arakkaveettil, Kiran Johnny, Vasudev and Tilakram Jawahar Thakur," it tweeted.

Ummer Chonokadavath and his son Nabil Ummer were also among the deceased, Gulf News reported, citing their relative.

Four Indians were discharged after receiving treatment in Rashid Hospital.

--IANS

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