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WEDNESDAY, January 21, 2015 / 30 Rabi Al Awal 1436 AH timesofoman.com
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TOP THREE INSIDE STORIES
OMAN
Missing boat tracked; three crew rescued, one is dead
Council discusses Al Nahdha flooding
1
The Council of Ministers reviewed the situation arising out of the latest depression which affected several parts of Oman, including the Al Nahdha Hospital. The Council discussed reasons behind water-logging in the hospital premises. It studied the possibility of transferring the hospital to a safer location with the consent of competent authorities who will prepare plan for the shifting of hospital. >A5
Staff Reporter MUSCAT: A fishing boat that went missing in Salalah waters was tracked and three of the crew members were rescued by the coast guard and navy personnel, said a statement by the police. One of the crew was found dead on the boat. The three, who were not in very good condition, and the body of the dead crew member, were flown to land on a Royal Air Force aircraft. The boat was found nine miles south of Al Halaniyat Island by the rescue team after it sailed into Sharbtat waters and was reported missing. Rescue operation “A search and rescue operation was conducted after we received a complaint from the boat owner. The rescue team tracked the boat and found that one of the crew members was dead and others were not in very good condition,” added the statement. The crew was initially provided treatment at a health centre in Al Halaniyat Island and later flown to Salalah hospital. According to officials, the crew is from an Asian country. U-TURN
ROP dilutes fine regulations after complaints Times News Service MUSCAT: New regulations forcing expatriates to settle unpaid traffic fines before travelling out of the country for business or vacation have been rowed back after a U-turn by the Royal Oman Police following complaints. Earlier, an official at ROP had confirmed to Times of Oman that its new policy meant that expatriates leaving Oman on business or vacation, or for good, had to settle their unpaid traffic fines, otherwise they might be prevented from boarding their flights or crossing the borders. Now the policy has been watered down so that it only affects those leaving the country permanently. Speaking to Times of Oman yesterday, ROP said, “The original plan was to ask expats to settle unpaid traffic fines even if they were leaving the country for couple of days. >A6
COMMENTARY
85m
UK keen to support Sultanate’s growth
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Alderman Alan Yarrow, Lord Mayor of London is arriving in Oman today accompanied by a high-level business delegation. In an exclusive piece for Times of Oman, Lord Mayor says that he is delighted to visit Oman acting as an Ambassador for the UK-based financial and professional services industry. He says that there are a huge number of opportunities for the two countries to work together, across many industries. >A12
Omani rials cost of the rain SCAN THIS QR CODE TO INSTANTLY VISIT
PHOTO GALLERY
Rains caused
W W W.T I M E S O F O M A N .C O M
massive loss of property in Oman with Al Nahdha Hospital also bearing the brunt CLEAN-UP OPERATION: The mopping up operation to clear the debris from roads is on. Photo-Talib Al Wahaibi
SALEH AL SHAIBANY
saleh@timesofoman.com MUSCAT: Damage from the storm, which hit Oman on Monday, could cost more than OMR85 million, a government official said on Tuesday. Many parts of the country were lashed by rain with wind speed reaching up to 80km per hour. The Meteorological department said that 35mm of rain was
recorded during the downpour. “The reconstruction cost could go well above 85 million rials. The damages include roads, bridges, government buildings, private homes, schools and hospitals,” a civil defence department official, told Times of Oman. Oman television showed damaged desalination plants, electricity and water pipes across the country. But the most distinctive
damage was at the Al Nahdha Hospital forcing police helicopters to evacuate patients to other medical centres in the capital. Clippings from television showed homes and shopping areas submerged under rain water. Hundreds of cars were also swept away. Snow and hailstorms were reported in some parts of the Sultanate while many wadis were choked with silts causing prob-
lems to the drainage system. An official from the Capital Market Authority (CMA) said that insurance companies would have to pay up to 10 million rials for car damages. “Hundreds of cars have been damaged and my estimate is just a conservative one,” the CMA official said. Speaking to Al Shabiba, the sister publication of Times of Oman, Nasser Al Busaidi, a board director member at Oman United Insurance company, said that damage to the fully insured private vehicles would be covered if they have been parked at the right spots. “Insurance companies will not bear the cost if a vehicle has been damaged while crossing a wadi,” Al Busaidi said, clarifying that third party insured vehicles will not be compensated by the insurance company. >A5
MARKET
Oman’s deficit could go up to OMR4.3b
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Oman’s budget deficit could be around OMR4.3 billion and OMR6.8 billion this year, if the average oil price hovers around $60 per barrel and $40 per barrel, respectively, according to an economic outlook report for GCC countries released by a leading bank. This is against a deficit projection of OMR2.5 billion at an estimated expenditure of OMR14.1 billion and revenue of OMR11.6b. >B3
RAIN WOES
ROP, onlookers help evacuate students from bus on flooded Wadi Kabir street Staff Reporter
African diva shines on a rainy day
A6
MUSCAT: Eight primary class students from an Indian school had to be rescued by the Royal Oman Police (ROP) personnel and onlookers through the windows of their bus stranded on a waterlogged road in Wadi Kabir, at around 5:30pm on Monday evening. The rescued children were sent to safer locations in two ROP vehicles. “We were on the other side of the road and saw the bus with the children inside stranded on the flooded road. Had they opened the bus door, the waters would have entered the bus. Some onlookers rushed to the bus and pulled out the children through the windows. Meanwhile, somebody called the police and they also joined in the rescue operations,” said sources. “Some of the children were crying in fear, but timely action by the ROP and onlookers saved their lives,” added the sources. The children were later taken home by their parents who had
TIMELY ACTION: The rescued children were sent to safer locations in two ROP vehicles.
rushed to the spot. Wadi Kabir area was badly hit in the rains. The roads were flooded and vehicles were submerged. Meanwhile, sources added that more frightened children were stuck on flooded roads in Darsait and also rescued later by parents and the police. However, the school authorities said, “We are not aware of Wadi Kabir incident, but we know of the incident in Darsait.”
Due to traffic jams and floods, many children of the afternoon shift classes reached home late at night. Panic-stricken parents braved the heavy rain and stood on the roads waiting for their children’s return. “Even after several precautionary calls were given to motorists to stay at home and not to go out unless there was an emergency, we received a large number of
distress calls from stranded motorists as people had not heeded the advice,” tweeted the Public Authority of Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA). Patients were airlifted, families had to be rescued from flooded flats and passengers had to be pulled out from their vehicles stuck on flooded roads and overflowing wadis as heavy rains lashed Muscat by Monday evening.