Photos taken after vehicles were involved in a crash were supplied to Doha News
A car accident in Al Khor that killed seven people last week has left several others injured, some in critical condition.
Three Nepali workers were killed on Friday after their employer-provided bus was hit by a pickup truck driving in the wrong direction, according to an embassy representative in Doha.
Pusparaj Siaakoti, Ram Saroaar Shah and Surya Bahadur Karki were all killed.
Eight other Nepali men were also involved in the accident, the representative said.
The news comes days after Qatar released its latest traffic figures, showing a rise in the number of overall accidents in May. However, that month also saw fewer road-related fatalities – 19, down from 29 in April.
Speaking to Doha News, an official at Seagull Trading & Contracting (STC) said a Sri Lankan man who worked for the company was driving the bus and also died.
The driver of the pick up, along with two other passengers with him, were also killed during the collision. They are thought to be Indian, but this has not been confirmed by embassy representatives.
The STC representative said the accident took place around 2:45pm on Friday, June 27 in Al Khor, on the highway to Ras Laffan.
A pickup truck apparently trying to overtake a car ahead of it swerved into oncoming traffic, and collided head-on with a bus going in the opposite direction, toward workers’ accommodations.
Injured
Among the injured, four patients are in Hamad Hospital – including two men in critical condition with severe head trauma.
Two others with fractures have been transferred to Al Wakra Hospital, and two more were discharged from the hospital earlier this week.
In addition to STC, others who were traveling on the bus worked for the Middle East Development & Trading Contracting Company, Sebco Trading & Contracting and the Empire Group WII.
There is little identifying information about the passengers and drivers who killed while traveling in the pickup truck.
All of the deceased’s bodies were sent to the morgue at Hamad Medical Corp. (HMC). Morgue officials declined to comment on the details, only confirming that seven people were killed.
Speaking to Doha News today, Nepali expat Om Prakash Aryal, one of the injured at Hamad Hospital, said:
“I didn’t even know it was happening. I was looking down at my phone, doing something, and then we felt the crash. There was blood everywhere. I saw two people die on the spot. The driver was shouting, but then he turned quiet too. I think he died.”
Aryal has two broken legs and a fractured arm, while his colleague sharing the same room, Birpul Tiwari, has a broken nose and leg.
While Tiwari could be seen walking around on crutches today, Aryal remains bed-ridden, having undergone surgery in both legs on Saturday.
A nurse at Hamad Hospital who was in the room during the time of the interview commented that once Aryal is discharged, he will need extensive rehabilitation, help, and a wheelchair with an attached commode.
Meanwhile, Tiwari, despite his injuries and damaged nose, was discharged today. A Seagull representative picked him up from the hospital today to transfer him to his accommodation, where Tiwari would be given access to a wheelchair, he told Doha News.
The representative said that Tiwari was being released due to a shortage of beds at the hospital.
However, in a statement sent to Doha News about the accident, HMC said:
“Before discharge, each and every patient is assessed by their attending physician and provided with follow-up care and advice. There are patients remaining in our care who will be discharged at a time deemed clinically appropriate by his or her care team.
HMC wishes to assure the public of its continuous commitment to bringing safe, effective and compassionate care to each and every one of our patients.”
The Seagull representative said that follow up-appointments for Tiwari with ENT specialists, and orthopedic and plastic surgeons had been booked, and that the company would ensure that the best care would be provided.
Waiting to wake up
Two other Nepali workers remain in critical condition in Hamad’s Intensive Care Unit.
Both men suffered from severe head injuries. One, aged 37, also sustained multiple fractures on both legs, while the other has a fractured jaw, leg, and thigh.
Due to the extent of their injuries, doctors cannot yet operate on them. Speaking to Doha News, the doctor working on both men’s cases said:
“There is nothing that we can do at the moment. There is no surgery or procedure that can be done to improve the extent of their head injuries. We need to operate on their legs, but can only do that when they are stable. For now, we just have to let the body heal itself, and see if they wake up.”
To help them heal, both men are in medically-induced comas. Whether they will wake up once doctors try to take them out a coma remains to be seen.
The doctor added that should they wake up, both men will need extensive and long-term rehabilitation.
“It will be a long road to recovery, if they do wake up. However, regardless of whether the company covers their stay, we will continue to give them the best treatment we have to offer.”
What’s next
For now, the bodies of the seven deceased remain at the Hamad Hospital morgue, where there are expected to stay pending the results of a police inquiry into the accident.
Meanwhile, some of those who have been injured are expressing concerns about the future.
Speaking to Doha News, Aryal, the man with two broken legs who is at Hamad Hospital, said:
“You know how it is. We aren’t treated like people. If they discharge me, which they said they will in the next few days, I have no one to help me. In Nepal, I have family, but here, I have no one. No friends, nothing.”
Thoughts?
