Dubai bus crash: 17 dead and three injured as coach smashes into street sign

Seventeen people have been killed and three others were injured after a bus smashed into a street sign in Dubai.

The coach was carrying 31 passengers when it crashed near a road’s exit for Rashidiya metro station at 6pm on Thursday (local time).

Different nationalities were among those killed in the horrific collision, local police confirmed.

A dramatic image showed the bus with severely damaged frontage as emergency services surrounded the scene.

The bus had been travelling from Muscat, the capital of Oman, to Dubai before the fatal crash.

Dubai police did not say what may have caused the collision but said "sometimes a minor error or negligence" can be fatal.

The force said the collision happened in Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road.

Mwasalat, a government-owned bus company in Oman, confirmed the crash involved one of its coaches.

It said the service would be suspended for the immediate future.

Agencies contributed to this report