Ras Al Khaimah: An Emirati woman who saved an Indian truck driver from flames following a recent road crash will be honoured by Ras Al Khaimah Police on Sunday.
Gulf News reported the accident that took place on September 19 on Martyr’s Road in Ras Al Khaimah involving a collision between two trucks.
As the two trucks went up in flames, the driver of a truck whose clothes were burning jumped out of the cabin and was lying on the road battling the fire.
In a heroic act, Jawaher Saif Al Kumaiti, who happened to drive past, pulled over her car and came to the Indian driver’s rescue.
Al Kumaiti, who has been hailed a heroine for her quick action, used her friend’s abaya to cover the truck driver and put out the fire.
In an interview with Gulf News on Saturday, Al Kumaiti, who hails from Ajman, said that she was returning from visiting a friend at Khalifa Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah when she spotted the two trucks in flames and a man lying on the ground, with his clothes on fire.
“He was lying down. He was on fire... I took out my friend’s abaya and left the car. I went to cover the guy because there were no clothes on him. He looked at me and said, ‘I’m dying. I’m afraid to die’,” she said, adding that she tried to talk to him and calm him down.
She added that she left the area when the police and paramedics arrived.
Al Kumaiti said she did not hesitate a moment when she spotted the fire, and did not think about herself, or that her clothes might catch fire — or that the truck in flames nearby might explode.
“I just thought about saving the man’s life,” said Al Kumaiti, who works at Adnoc Oasis in Sharjah.
Viral valiant act
Al Kumaiti’s valiant act went viral on social media after Major Tareq Al Sharhan, Head of the Emergency Department at Ras Al Khaimah Police, posted a video on his Instagram account asking his followers to help track down the woman.
The police got to know about Al Kumaiti’s bravery when the Indian truck driver, Harkirit Singh, told them about her act after he was taken to hospital.
The driver told police that the woman covered his body using an abaya to put out the flames.
An Emirati man who was at the scene and reported the incident to Ras Al Khaimah Police operation room also told officers about the woman’s heroic act, Maj. Al Sharhan said.
On Saturday, Maj. Al Sharhan posted the woman’s picture on his Instagram account hailing her as “The bravest woman in UAE”.
Ealier on Friday, Al Kumaiti, along with her mother and sister, went to Saqr hospital and visited the driver, who according to the medical staff has suffered 40 to 50 per cent burns.
According to the staff, when the driver saw her, he cried out: ‘You’re the woman who saved my life! Thank you for your brave job. Your image did not go from my mind for a moment.”
Al Kumaiti’s mother said: “I am proud of my daughter and what she did... I always encourage my children to help people if they see anyone is in need of help.”
Invited by Indian Embassy
The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi will also honour Al Kumaiti.
"We have invited her to our Gandhi Jayanti (birthday of Mahatma Gandhi) event on October 2 to honour her, " Navdeep Singh Suri, the Indian Ambassador to the UAE, told Gulf News on Saturday.
The embassy and Gandhi Sahitya Vedi, a community organisation promoting Gandhi's teachings, are jointly organising the programme at 7.15pm on Monday at the embassy auditorium.
— With inputs by Binsal Abdul Kader, Senior Reporter
