Accident survivor recalls horror

One of the survivors of the deadly road accident in Jubail that claimed the lives of 12 Asian expatriates on Monday said there was panic in the bus that was carrying more than 40 Nasser S. Al-Hajri Corporation employees.
Recalling the harrowing moments, Khushi Alam, a 27-year-old expatriate from Bihar, said: “It was around 7:20 in the evening when our bus was hit by a trailer. It was dark on the two-way Abu Hadriya Road that connected our camp and the project in the Jubail 2nd Industrial City. This container-like trailer came from the opposite lane and smashed into the front end of our bus.”
According to him, all those in the front section died. “There was no way they could have survived. I was sitting in the middle. It was a rattling experience. Every one of us panicked and ran toward the emergency door at the back. We jumped off the bus and fell on each other. Seconds later, we saw a huge ball of fire enveloping our bus and the trailer,” said Alam.
Alam received injuries in the arm and part of his right ear was singed. “My nose started bleeding. Ambulances arrived on the scene immediately and took us all to Al-Mouwasat Hospital,” he said. “Many of us broke down seeing our friends die in the massive fire. It was heart-rending. Shocking.”
According to Alam, in the moments before the crash every one was in a cheerful mood having finished their shift. “We were heading to our camp, many of us were on the phone with relatives and friends, when the accident took place. It all happened in a flash,” he told Arab News.
Among the dead were four expatriates from the south Indian state of Kerala, two each from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, one from Andhra Pradesh and two from Nepal. The bus driver was a Pakistani national.
Nasser S. Al-Hajri Corp. Managing Director Ravi Pillai and his team of managers and supervisors came in for praise for being on the scene in no time.
“All of us were there within minutes,” said Project Manager Aziz Ahmad Siddiqui. He said the company chief has announced a compensation of one million Indian rupees to be paid to the immediate relatives of each victim. “This money will be in addition to the compensation that they will get from the insurance firm,” he said.
Ravi Pillai also announced that the company would employ one close male relative of each victim.
“This is a tragedy and our managing director is fully aware that nothing can bring back those precious lives, but he wants to help the victims’ families in any way he can,” said Siddique.
Camp No. 1 officer Gireesh Kumar E.V. said some of the employees have decided to donate a day’s salary to the victims’ families. “All of us are in shock and are trying to come to terms with this tragedy,” he told Arab News.
As for Alam, he says it was a providential escape for him. “I want to thank Allah for granting me another life. I want to pray five times a day thanking Him,” he said in a tone laced with emotions. “I have spoken to my mother and my wife and all my relatives in my hometown Gopalganj. They were all relieved to hear my voice.”