NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE : THE NATIONAL
New drivers will be taught first aid
ABU DHABI - SEP 08: Basic first-aid training will be compulsory from next year for all Abu Dhabi driving licence applicants, who will have to pass a test before they are allowed to drive.
The Government hopes the training will give drivers better knowledge and understanding of the way to treat roadside casualties, which could ultimately give some victims a better chance of survival.
About three people die on UAE roads every day on average. In an attempt to reduce the number of accidents, stiffer penalties were introduced in March for offences such as not wearing seat belts and driving while using mobile phones.
Dr Jens Thomsen at Heath Authority Abu Dhabi said: “We are doing what a lot of other countries do. It makes sense. Of course we cannot prevent any future injuries from happening but we can do something about the outcome of existing injuries.
“If drivers and pedestrians are able to provide and deliver first aid maybe the likelihood of reaching the hospital alive and surviving the injuries will be increased.
“This is just the first step,” he said. “We need to finalise a lot of decisions such as where the training will take place, and we are working with the police to make sure it is implemented properly.
“People need to know their limitations, they should know how and when to help, and when to do nothing at all.”
Dr Thomsen said the tender for the training went out last week and proposals must be received by Sept 24. He hopes to bring in an international company to work with a local agency. Trainers will need to be fluent in Arabic, English, Urdu or any other languages spoken by licence applicants.
The health authority has approached a number of agencies, including the Red Cross in Germany, Canada and the UK, for advice on how best to begin the training.
The courses will cover such techniques as cardiopulmonary resuscitation and checking breathing and circulation.
Under a five-year plan announced in May, reducing the number of road deaths is the health authority’s second-highest priority, after ensuring universal health care.
According to a UAE University study, 1,056 people died in 8,872 road accidents last year.
Dr Klaus Boecker, director of corporate performance and operations at the health agency, said that with so many road accidents and deaths, there was no excuse for not introducing first-aid training. He noted that some other countries, such as Germany, require it. He also said first-aid training would be useful in treating household injuries.
Bus drivers appeal for patience if late
ABU DHABI - SEP. 08: School bus drivers appealed to parents yesterday to be patient if they arrive late in the morning to pick up their children during the first days of the new term. They blamed rush hour traffic jams and long queues at petrol stations for any delays.
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, the transport supervisor for Abu Dhabi’s Rosary School, said drivers faced similar problems at the beginning of each school year as they struggled to judge how long trips would take.
“It takes a few days to estimate the best timing to pick up students,” he said. “For example, on the first day of school we try to release the buses by 7.15am, second day we try 7.10am. We don’t want the students to arrive too early to school.”
Mr Abdul-Rauf said delays were expected at this time of year as parents on the school run added to the rush hour traffic congestion.
Long queues at petrol stations were also a problem this year.
Waleed al Muhairi, the manager of the Abu Dhabi branch of Emirates Transport, questioned the claim, however, saying Adnoc had dedicated six stations for school buses after an agreement between the two companies. Two stations are located in the capital, two in Shahama, one in Mussafah and another in Bani Yas.
He added that he had received no complaints from parents about late-running buses.
Dr Khalid al Ibry, the head of educational affairs in Abu Dhabi educational zone, admitted there had been a few complaints but that many of the problems were down to inaccurate pick-up points given by parents.
Moustafa Noor, a Rosary School bus driver, said drivers usually filled up before they picked up the pupils or after they dropped them off in the afternoon.
Mr Noor said from now on he was going to fill up at the Adnoc station opposite Al-Falah Plaza at 6.15am, an hour before picking up the students to avoid being late.
Another driver, Abdulrazaq Abu Baker, said he was grateful that only school and Al Ghazal Transport buses were allowed to fill up at the petrol station opposite Madinat Zayed on Muroor road, as he had not faced any queues yesterday.
While school buses are not facing any congestion at the Al-Falah Plaza and Madinat Zayed stations, those filling up outside the capital continue to suffer.
“When I went to fill diesel in Bani Yas on the road to Al Ain last week I had to wait for a long time,” said Akram Khan, another bus driver. “Today I went to the station in front of Falah Plaza and it was clear.”
While many of Rosary School pupils who use school buses said they usually arrived on time, Lena Hashem, a fourth grade student, said her bus was regularly arriving late.
“I miss my first lesson,” she said.
Lena’s mother Ikram Abdul Kareem was about to check with the school yesterday why her three children had been more than an hour late for classes.
“We’ve always had a problem with this driver,” she said. “He picks up the children early, yet they never arrive to school on time.” she said. “He never gave us a reason, nor did the school.”
Helicopter Crash questions remain
ABU DHABI - SEP. 08: Officials of foreign embassies said yesterday they had been unable to gather information about the events surrounding the deaths of seven workers in an oil rig helicopter crash off the coast of Dubai.
The families of two of the victims spoke out publicly for the first time, saying the silence about the deaths of their loved ones had intensified their grief and they were still trying to find out what led to the crash.
The seven dead – the British helicopter pilot and his Venezuelan co-pilot, and the five passengers from India, the US, the Philippines and Pakistan – were working at an oil field owned by Dubai Petroleum when their Bell 212 aircraft crashed during take-off last Wednesday, smashing into a Maersk-owned oil rig 70km off the coast of Dubai.
Some of the bodies were so badly burnt that they had to be identified by DNA tests.
A Dubai Petroleum spokesman said last night the government-owned company had nothing to do with the deaths. “We are not their employers. If the families are making complaints they should go to their employers,” he said.
A spokesman for Dubai Police said the crash was under investigation. A spokeswoman for the General Civil Aviation Authority added: “This is an ongoing matter and it will be at least two or three days before we have any findings.”
She said the helicopter would have carried a black box that should have recorded the last moments of the flight, but would not say whether it had been recovered.
Peter Pereira, 45, whose brother Julias was one of two Indians killed in the crash, said: “We feel isolated here and have no information about what is going on in Dubai. We are waiting for any news about the investigations or the body of my brother. This is a very disturbing time for us and things are worse because we are not getting any information.”
Julias, 37, had been married for two years but left his wife in his native city of Pune, hoping to save money for their future by working at the oil field.
He spent alternate months at home and had just begun a four-week stint in the Rashid oilfield on Tuesday.
His younger brother Savio is preparing to fly to Dubai today to repatriate Julias’s body.
“We are all keeping a brave face but we do not know how we will react when we see the body,” their older brother Peter said.
A spokeswoman for the Philippine consulate in Dubai said staff had been trying to get news for the family of Diosdado Buhangin, 48, an oil technician who had worked in Dubai for more than six years before his death in the crash.
“We have tried to get information. It is very frustrating. I do not know if there has been a news blackout about this but no one knows or is saying anything,” she said.
Mr Buhangin’s widow, Vilma, 48, had to break the news of his death to their five children aged 20, 14, 13, 11 and nine.
She was informed by a telephone call at her home outside Manila from Petroleum Network Services, a firm sub-contracted by Dubai Petroleum which recruited Mr Buhangin.
“My eldest son was with me when I received the phone call. My youngest son still thinks my husband will be home for his birthday on Oct 20,” Mrs Buhangin said. “Now I do not want to be alone in the house and do not know how I am going to bring up five children on my own.
“My husband has been positively identified now but I hope to travel to Dubai this week as I want to see his body first-hand before it arrives back home – as hard as that will be. He will always be remembered as a loving husband and a responsible father to our children. He paid for our house, our debts, our daily expenses and the children’s schooling. I will be lost without him.”
Mrs Buhangin begged the Philippine Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the department of foreign affairs for help in repatriating her husband’s body.
She last saw him in August and spoke to him on the telephone hours before the crash. Petroleum Network Services is expected to pay the funeral expenses and her ticket to Dubai.
A spokeswoman for the Indian consulate in Dubai said it had no official confirmation of the deaths of the Indian workers.
“We have not been given any information at all. We are in touch with the company and as soon as it issues the names we will provide all assistance to the victims in repatriating bodies, but cannot do anything until they do so. Until then we will have to wait.”
A spokesman for the Pakistani consulate said he had been given no information about the Pakistani victim. The British embassy said it had yet to make contact with relatives of Chris Brown, the dead British pilot.
Investigation into violence at UAE match
ABU DHABI - SEP 08: The UAE national football team faces disciplinary action after match officials and opposing team players were pelted with missiles during a World Cup qualifier against North Korea.
The match was stopped for five minutes when dozens of water bottles and fruit juice cartons were thrown onto the pitch after North Korea scored a second goal.
At one point a North Korean player receiving treatment was struck by a carton and a linesman had to dodge missiles.
The behaviour was branded uncivilised and unpatriotic as authorities and fans condemned the scenes 10 minutes from the end of Saturday’s home qualifier at Mohammed bin Zayed stadium. North Korea went on to win the game 2-1.
The UAE Football Association is to investigate the incident, and sources confirmed the Asian Football Confederation would wait for the referee’s report before deciding what action to take against the UAE. Police said the sale of water would now be banned during international matches.
Lt Col Rashid Suhail, the head of a special task force with Abu Dhabi Police, said new measures would be implemented at the stadium in time for the UAE’s second group qualifying game against Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
Describing the scene, he said: “The crowd reacted in a bad way to the goal and started throwing water bottles, so security stopped the game.
“Both the police and security spoke to the head of the supporters’ groups who then spoke with the crowd and asked them to stop throwing bottles.”
Obeid al Muhairi, an FNC member from Sharjah, said: “There should not be fanatic behaviour in football. The ball may roll once for you but it also runs against you. You can’t be the winner all the time.
“People had high expectations and their reaction was violent because of the Olympic Games results. It was like putting salt on the wound. But this doesn’t, of course, justify the reaction. It’s bad behaviour, uncivilised, and doesn’t show any sense of belonging to the nation.”
Eight UAE athletes competed in Beijing, but they returned home without a medal and with little personal success in their individual events.
With temperatures touching 35°C and extremely high humidity during Saturday’s game, most fans were drinking water or orange juice that they had purchased from vendors.
“Originally, it was not allowed to take water bottles into the stadium, so in co-operation between our department and the football association we are going to sign an agreement to stop water being sold there,” Lt Col Suhail said.
The ruling will apply to all international football games in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain from now on. An existing ban on the sale of drinks during league matches will continue.
A spokesman for the UAE Football Association said: “This is not good. We have a technical committee who work with the police to take things like this further if they need to.”