MUSCAT: A truck carrying heavy steel coils lost control after encountering sudden traffic congestion and triggered a chain collision involving 15 vehicles in Samail, Royal Oman Police has said, as Oman’s transport authorities opened an investigation into the deadly crash.

Six people were killed and 18 others injured in the Friday night accident on Sultan Thuwaini bin Said Road in the Wadi Bani Rawaha area of the Wilayat of Samail. Eight of the injured were reported to be in critical condition.

Providing new details about the accident, Major Mohammed bin Salam Al Hashmi, Director of Security Relations and Media at the Royal Oman Police, said the collision occurred shortly before 8 pm as a tractor-trailer carrying steel coils was travelling towards Muscat.

An earlier traffic accident near the location had caused vehicles to build up along the road, Al Hashmi said.

The truck encountered the congestion and the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing its heavy load to become dislodged.

According to Al Hashmi, the truck veered into the opposite carriageway while the steel coils it was transporting were thrown between the barriers separating the two directions of traffic.

The sequence of events triggered a major multi-vehicle collision, with some vehicles severely crushed by the impact. A total of 15 vehicles were damaged.

Police and emergency teams were deployed to the scene as the collision caused significant congestion along the busy road.

Transport Safety Office opens probe

Oman’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology said on Saturday that its Transport Safety Office had begun an investigation into the accident.

The investigation will seek to establish the causes of the crash and determine the factors that contributed to it, the ministry said.

The probe comes as authorities piece together the circumstances surrounding one of Oman’s deadliest road accidents in recent months.

The Royal Oman Police had initially issued a traffic alert following the collision, warning of injuries and heavy congestion in Wadi Bani Rawaha and urging motorists approaching the area to exercise extreme caution.

Police later confirmed that six people had died and 18 had been injured.

The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology expressed its condolences to the families of those killed and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Further findings are expected as the Transport Safety Office continues its investigation into the crash.