7 Days
Sharjah, Mar 14: Members of an Iraqi football team in the UAE for an Asian Champions League match have been hailed as heroes after rescuing a woman and three children following a traffic pile-up. Several players from the Air Force Iraqi Club rushed to help the accident victims following the four vehicle smash in Sharjah, fearing they would be trapped in the wreckage and burnt alive.
Coach Ali Al-Hasnawy said players and management were shopping ahead of their clash with Al-Wasl in Dubai when they heard tyres screeching and then the repeated thudding sound of cars colliding. He told 7DAYS: “We heard a tyre burst followed by the impact of the crashes. People all around had frozen and were just staring. I guess we are used to these incidents in Iraq and the players reacted instantly. Many of us rushed to the scene to help out.
“One of the cars had hit a concrete block and spun around at least three times. We were afraid the vehicles would catch fire and burn those inside.” Al-Hasnawy said the players had to wrench a door away from one of the cars to rescue the family trapped inside the locked vehicle. Team goalkeeper Wisam Kased said: “I saw a woman in the front seat with blood covering her face. A teenager was in the front passenger seat. There were two young children in the back seats. They were both crying but seemed unharmed. I carried one of the children to the pavement. He was very scared but he had no wounds.”
Team members gave the injured first-aid at the scene before paramedics arrived and took the mother and children to hospital for treatment. The coach said the woman’s husband called the team later thanking them for their brave efforts. “We are used to seeing such things back home and know how to react. We were all very happy to have helped this family,” Al-Hasnawy added.
Sharjah Police said the actions of the men may have helped save the lives of those involved in the accident, adding that they deserved to be treated as heroes. The team’s heroics continued on Wednesday night as they beat their hosts 1-0 before flying out of the country yesterday to Kuwait for another match.