Eid holidays turned tragic for the families of the 17 people, including 12 Indians, who died in a road accident after a bus from Oman crashed in a low-clearance signboard in Dubai.
Most of the passengers were travelling back to Dubai after a visit to their relatives in neighbouring Oman during the Eid holidays in the UAE from June 3 to June 6.
Twelve Indians were also killed after the driver of the bus, belonging to the Omani bus transport company Mwasalat, wrongly entered a road not designated for buses on Thursday, the Gulf News reported.
Dubai police authorities said the number of Indians who died in the accident could increase further as some bodies are yet to be identified.
Nahimshaad CK, a resident of Dubai, said his uncle Ummer Chonokadavath, 65, and his 25-year-old son Nabil Ummer were killed in the accident.
The father and son lived in Kerala's Thalassery and had visited Muscat to celebrate Eid with Ummer Chonokadavath's daughter.
"They were on their way back from Muscat after celebrating Eid. My uncle has had a business here (Dubai) for many years," he was quoted as saying by the Khaleej Times.
Jamaludeen Arakkaveettil, an employee of a Dubai-based media firm, was also one of the victims. He had gone to Oman to visit a friend.
"We saw him last week before the (Eid) holidays began. He wished Eid Mubarak to everyone and left," his colleague said.
Authorities are working to send Jamaludeen Arakkaveettil's body back to Kerala where his wife and daughters live, the news report said.
The wife of 30-year-old Vikram Jawahar Thakur wept inconsolably after she received the news of her husband's death.
Forty-year-old Deepak Kumar, an accountant, was returning along with his family after spending the Eid holidays with a cousin in Oman, the Gulf News reported.
Deepak Kumar, who lived in Kerala, died in the accident, while his wife Athira and four-year-old daughter Athulya were injured and are undergoing treatment.
The injured bus driver is also undergoing treatment in the hospital and the Dubai Police have recorded his statement, the report said.
The Indian Consulate had earlier tweeted that four Indians were discharged after first aid and three are receiving treatment in Rashid Hospital.
The bus, carrying 31 passengers, crashed into a height barrier that cut the left side of the bus, killing the people sitting there, the Gulf News reported.
Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar expressed his condolences to the families of those who were killed in the accident.
"Deeply grieved by the unfortunate bus accident in Dubai that has claimed 12 Indian lives. My sincere condolences to the families," he tweeted.
Indian Consular General in Dubai Vipul had earlier confirmed the death of 12 Indians in the accident.
"With great sadness we inform that Indian fatalities in Dubai bus accident have gone up to 12," he tweeted.
He said that the embassy officials are at the Rashidiya police station and mortuary to extend all assistance to the families of the victims.
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