Brother, sister dead after tragic Oman road crash

Muscat: Two children were killed and their father is battling for life in hospital after their motorcycle collided with another vehicle in a horrific road accident in Shinas on Monday night.

Four-year-old Rohit and six-year-old Chandrika died after the bike they were on slammed into a truck. Their father, Kannan Subhas, is fighting for his life. He underwent a major operation on Tuesday morning.

“Right now he is admitted in the intensive care unit of the hospital,” his colleague, Abdul Rehman, said.

Kannan, who is a teacher at a government college in Shinas, had recently brought his family to visit him in Oman. “They were visiting Oman and were supposed to go back to India next week,” said Rehman.

An official at the Royal Oman Police, has confirmed the accident. “A motorbike with three persons on board skidded off and rammed into another vehicle,” he said. He added that two children were killed in the accident and another sustained severe injuries. No further details about the accident have been given.

Kannan hails from Thanjavur, a city in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. “They were returning home from a nearby shopping mall on Monday night when the incident happened,” a friend said. “The children were riding on the motorcycle with their father,” said a local.

Dr Rajiv Tandon, Honorary Chairman, Indian Social Club, Sohar, called upon everyone to drive safely in Oman. Overloading a motorbike with passengers is an offence in Oman and ROP is on a constant mission to make the Sultanate’s roads safer.

A new child safety seat law was passed in the country recently and now every child aged four and under must be in a harness. But in this tragic accident, the children were being transported on a motorbike. Their mother is at her husband’s bedside, praying he recovers.

According to recent data released by the police, in 2017, a total of 3,845 accidents occurred, down from 4,721 the previous year. Speeding was still the most common cause of accidents (2,261 in 2017 compared to 2,499 in 2016), whereas negligence (552 compared to 672) and improper behaviour (521 compared to 705) were also leading causes of accidents and deaths on the roads.

Some 640 deaths occurred in 2017, compared to 692 in 2016. And 3,134 people were injured in 2017, compared to 3,261 people in 2016.