03-08-2025
Video: Former UAE soldier killed in horrific crash during weekend break to Salalah
In a tragic accident on Saturday, August 2, an Emirati family lost their father in a deadly car crash on Oman's Haima road, the victim's son confirmed to Khaleej Times.
Seventy-year-old Mohammad Faraj, a former UAE soldier, was travelling with his wife and daughter to Salalah when their car crashed into another vehicle on the highway that is commonly used by UAE residents heading towards Oman.
The three members were going down to the neighbouring country for a trip over the weekend and were planning to come back by the next week.
"I received a call at around 4pm from the authorities informing me of the incident. My father had passed away at around 2pm," said Sabri Al Tamimi, one of the victim's six children.
An Omani citizen, who was in the other car, also lost his life in the accident. His body was transported from Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah to Liwa in North Batinah Governorate by the Police Aviation.
A video being shared online shows the two cars (white and black) crashing into each other, while driving at high speeds. The son confirmed that his family was in the black SUV.
Mohammad Faraj died at the hospital, while Sabri's mother, 69-year-old Fathima Al Hashmi, is still in the Omani medical facility, where she is currently in a critical state but seems to be on the road to recovery, according to her son. His 42-year-old sister, who was accompanying her parents on the trip, was unharmed.
The remaining family members are expecting to receive their father's body by today evening (Sunday, August 3) or tomorrow (Monday, August 4), after which they will proceed with the burial in Dubai, where the family resides.
"We are all in shock as of now. Our family is still grappling with the news. My father was a great man," said the grieving son.
Mohammad Faraj was known for his valour, as he spent 27 years of his life serving in the UAE Armed Forces. Not only that, he had also survived cancer once in his life after battling it for years, after he was originally diagnosed in 1989. However, during the past five years, the Big C had returned. Tamimi's mother, also a cancer survivor, fought breast cancer for five years.
The couple was known for their pride towards their nation. Back in 2012, the duo made a 25-metre long flag, as both battled cancer at the time, on the occasion of the 41st National Day, which also happened to be their 41st wedding anniversary.
The family had adorned their villa in Mirdif with the flag, paying ode to the nation's leaders and thanking them for helping with their treatment and getting access to the best healthcare in the UAE and abroad.
