TAIF, 27 January — A private bus carrying about 60 pilgrims overturned on Thursday on its way to Makkah, injuring 38 people, Al-Watan newspaper reported yesterday. The accident, caused by overspeeding, took place near Al-Dahas gas station along the Saleel Road, the paper said.
The bus, which belonged to the Fowzan Company, was coming from the central region of Qassim. Security officers and the Red Crescent Society's rescue teams rushed to the accident spot and removed injured passengers to hospital.
According to the paper, 38 injured passengers had been taken to the emergency ward of King Faisal Hospital in Taif. Twenty of them were discharged after giving first aid treatment while the remaining 18 remain in hospital with various types of injuries, it added.
The passengers included Saudis, Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis, Egyptians and Syrians. They also included lecturers at the Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University's branch in Qassim, the paper said.
Abdul Hameed Muhammad, the Egyptian driver of the coach, said the accident occurred when he tried to overtake a car at a dangerous turn. Yasir Ameen, a Pakistani, said most of the passengers were asleep as the accident took place early in the morning. "We did not know what happened," said Ameen who had sustained injuries in head and hand.
The passengers admitted to King Faisal Hospital in Taif are: Abdul Hameed Muhammad, Ahmad Saeed, Huda Feefi Yousuf, Najiya Saeedan Mahmoud, Saadiya Hasan, Muhammad Hashim Abdul Hameed, Asma Mahir Muhammad, Ahmad Muhammad Aseeri (Egyptians), Sultan Atiyya Al-Suhfi, Atiyya Saleh Al-Suhfi (Saudi, Sayyed Muhammad Minjan, Ajmal Nadem, Dr. Basheer Ahmad (Indians), Muhammad Jabir Fadhl, Sajid Muhammad (Pakistanis), Shah Jalal, Muhammad Ala, Muhammad Alauddin (Bangladeshis), and Maamoun Saadi (Syrian).
