'Road of death': Perilous stretch in Kurdistan claims another eight lives

The road of death is what people of the region call a treacherous stretch of road which has seen multiple traffic accidents with the loss of hundreds of lives.

Credit: Ninos Emmanuel

On Saturday, 8 October 2022, on the road linking Badriya junction And Al-Qush Junction called (Death) Street, 11 people from one family were travelling in a minibus when they collided with a truck. Eight people from the same family died including the grandfather, his son and wife and five of their children. Three children from this family, two daughters and one son, were critically injured and are under intensive care in The Emergency Teaching Hospital in Duhok.

The remains of the minibus wreck Credit: Ninos Emmanuel

This tragic event caused great grief not only for relatives of the family but for the entire population of the Kurdistan region.

The names of the deceased family members Credit: Ninos Emmanuel

Our contributor from Nohadra (Duhok), Naseem Sadiq, filed this report explaining the incident including interviews with the Mayor of Telkaif district, Basim Bello, and the uncle of the deceased mother (May), Talal Koraeel Toma.

The three remaining children who survived the accident Credit: Ninos Emmanuel

Mr Sadiq’s report is comprehensive and includes reaction of the Mayor of Telkaif and a relative of the family caught up in the tragic accident.

Family relative, Talal Toma, outside the hospital. Credit: Ninos Emmanuel

Telkaif Mayor, Basim Bello. Credit: Ninos Emmanuel