Four Egyptian pilgrims died and 32 others were injured when their bus overturned at 2.25 p.m. on Saturday, the Civil Defense said. The accident occurred at Kilo 166 on Hijrah Road.
The bus, belonging to Jazirah Transport Company, was carrying 35 Egyptian pilgrims. The Pakistani driver was injured in the accident. Most of the injured pilgrims were trapped inside the damaged bus.
Six civil defense units took part in the rescue operation. Red Crescent ambulances transported the injured to hospitals in Madinah for treatment.
“Air ambulance service was also made available to transport seriously injured pilgrims to specialized hospitals,” said Col. Mubarak Al-Johani, spokesman of Civil Defense in Madinah.
He said an investigation has been launched to find out the accident’s reason.
Meanwhile, the Civil Defense evacuated about 600 Egyptian pilgrims from a hotel near the Grand Mosque in Makkah yesterday after a fire broke out in the 13-story building’s eighth floor.
Civil Defense officers extinguished the fire before it could spread to other floors.
