Oman road crash kills 8 family members

MUSCAT, Oman – Police in Oman say eight members of a family have been burned to death after their car struck a truck parked on the roadside.

A police statement carried in local media Saturday says the vehicle hit the truck outside Khaboura, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of the capital Muscat. The accident occurred Friday.

Officials in Oman and other Gulf states have aggressively pushed road safety initiatives in recent years. The Gulf region has some of the world’s highest per capita fatality rates for traffic accidents.