INDIAN SCHOOLGIRL KILLED AS CAR HITS STRAY CAMEL
Keep an eye on animals as their behaviour is unpredictable, safety experts tell motorists
MUSCAT: A bright schoolgirl ‘loved’ by her teachers died when her family car struck a stray camel, prompting calls from road safety experts for drivers to take extra care on the roads.
Shehariz — a student of Indian School Salalah — was travelling with her father Tahir when the vehicle overturned after hitting a camel.
“They had gone to Muscat dur- ing the Eid holidays, and from Muscat, the father and daughter were going to Jalan Bani Bu Ali to meet their relatives when the incident happened,” Nobin M.G., Administrative Officer of Indian School Salalah, said.
While her father escaped with minor injuries, she was declared dead after she was taken to a nearby hospital.
Siraj Kannur, who is helping the family with the burial, said: “When the car hit the camel, he lost control and in the first topple itself the door opened and the child was flung out of the car.
“The entire family is in a lot of mental stress,” he added.
Shehariz is survived by an el- der sister and a younger brother. “Their elder daughter is settled in Muscat. That’s why they came from Salalah to Muscat to drop her back home. The mother stayed back with the elder daughter in Muscat. The daughter (victim) and the father were going to meet a relative in Jalan Bani Bu Ali.
“In between tears, the mother keeps saying that her daughter should’ve just stayed back with them in Muscat, but maybe it was time. God called her and she went back.”
“The relatives are now taking her body for burial to Salalah,” the social worker said.
School authorities described Shehariz as a very bright student. “She was good at studies and the teachers also loved her very much,” Nobin said.