Emirati woman in Oman crash recovering

Mariam Ghareeb Rashed Al Ka’abi, sole survivor of the Emirati family involved in the tragic road accident near Salalah, Oman, on Monday is doing ‘much better’ but is still under a medically-induced coma, according to a relative.

Mariam was airlifted and transferred to the intensive care unit of Sheikh Khalifa Medical City from Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah on Tuesday by the order of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Salem Al Adawi, Mariam’s son-in-law, said that her condition has “progressed ... but she is still not awake, they (doctors) are giving her sedatives.”

He added that Mariam, who is in her late 40s, has sustained a major head injury but the ‘bleeding is not very serious.’

Until now, the mother of 10 has not been told about the death of her husband and six children, who were travelling with her in the family’s four-wheel drive to Salalah, in the three-vehicle collision.

Her husband, Saif Abdullah Al Haj Al Ka’abi (55) a retired Colonel; two sons, Mohammed (26), a co-pilot with Etihad Airways and Ahmed (8), and four daughters, Afra (27), Hamda (22), Fatima (18) and Sara (15), were killed on the spot.

Their bodies were brought back on Tuesday morning to Al Foah, Al Ain, where the family lived. Two planes were deployed by Shaikh Khalifa to transport the remains and the surviving family members, including brothers Humaid and Abdulla, who were in a separate car following their father’s vehicle when the accident occurred.

Thousands of tearful residents in Al Ain attended the funeral service and procession from Al Mohthared Mosque to the Al Foah graveyard where the seven members of the Al Ka’abi family were laid to rest.

“We appreciate the good support from everybody. Thank God, we are a very close family, not just as Al Ka’abi but all of us locals. We are all one family, under one umbrella of His Highness Shaikh Khalifa,” expressed the son-in-law.

According to reports, the accident took place when a truck tried to overtake a vehicle but crashed instead into the family car. Another vehicle, carrying six passengers, coming from the opposite direction also collided with the two vehicles.

The accident left seven members of the Emirati family and two Omanis dead, and seven others injured. —olivia@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE