15 people riding bicycles run over by speeding motorist in Kuwait

Gulf Today Report

A motorist ran over about 15 people of Asian nationalities on Al-Khaleej Al-Arabi Street in the State of Kuwait, before fleeing the site.

The injured, some in critical condition, were rushed to the nearby hospitals.  

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior issued a statement in which it explained that the accident occurred while a group of people were practicing bicycle sport without a permit on the main roads, and without permission from the concerned authorities in the Ministry of Interior, which provides them with a patrol protection.

The authorities confirmed that the surveillance cameras are being unloaded to find out and apprehend the driver.

A case of run accident was registered, and legal measures are being taken.

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior called on all those who practice sports on the main and public roads to abide by the regulating laws, noting that there were similar previous incidents, and it was alerted to the need to obtain a permit from the competent authorities, which includes the provision of security patrols to protect them, and the allocation of safe paths on the roads in order to preserve the safety of all.

On the other hand, Kuwait has suspended all new visas for Philippine nationals indefinitely, the interior ministry confirmed this week, in an escalation of a row between Kuwait and Manila over worker protections and employer rights.

Philippine nationals make up around 6% of Kuwait's 4.7 million population, government data shows. Kuwaitis make up 32%.

Large numbers of Philippine citizens work overseas, with around 10% of its gross domestic product coming from remittances.

The interior ministry on Wednesday said the Philippines had violated a bilateral labour agreement. The two countries signed an agreement in 2018 following a previous row over worker protections in the wake of several domestic worker deaths.