Fourteen people were killed and 30 others were injured when a truck driver lost control at the entrance to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, triggering a collision that involved 23 vehicles, the interior ministry said.
The crash took place in slow-moving traffic just before midnight, and five of the 23 vehicles involved were trucks, the ministry said in a statement.
The impact caused the truck to catch fire and the blaze spread to several other vehicles, “resulting in a heavy loss of life,” the statement said.
Fujairah Police said the injured were taken to hospital and that DNA testing is being used to identify the bodies of the victims, some of whom were Emirati nationals.
The Indian consulate in the UAE said Indian citizens were also among the dead. The consulate said it had contacted bereaved families and was working with local authorities to provide assistance and support.
Officials said the truck struck another vehicle before overturning and hitting other vehicles that had stopped because of the slow-moving traffic on the road.
Police officers, paramedics and civil defense teams went to the scene to extinguish the fire, transfer the injured to hospitals and secure the area, where specialist teams remained.
The interior ministry and the police expressed their deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
Half of those hurt were discharged from hospital after treatment, while the rest remained in medical care. The authorities said the injured included Emirati, Omani, Indian, Brazilian, Pakistani, Jordanian and Egyptian nationals.