RIYADH, 9 June — Four Egyptians were killed and 34 more injured when the bus they were traveling in collided with a truck on the international highway near Arar, northern Saudi Arabia.
Governor of the Northern Border Province Prince Abdullah ibn Abdul Aziz ibn Musaed ordered the concerned agencies to provide all necessary help, including telephone facilities, so that the injured could contact their relatives in Egypt.
The workers were heading home from the Eastern Province for their summer vacation via Dhabba port in the northwest of the Kingdom.
The Jordanian driver of the truck was slightly injured.
The truck, which was carrying paper, was coming from the United Arab Emirates. It rammed into the back of the bus belonging to the Saudi Arabian Public Transport Co. after the bus driver unexpectedly swerved to the right.
The injured passengers were taken to Arar’s general hospital.
A survivor said from his hospital bed that the passengers on the bus had been worried by how recklessly the bus driver was speeding, and had demanded that he be more careful, according to Okaz.
In another accident on the Industrial Road in Taif, three African nationals were killed and two others seriously injured, Al-Madinah reported yesterday.
The car carrying them lost control on top of a hill and fell to the ground 30 meters below. The driver was hurled 10 meters away from the car while the passengers were trapped inside it.
Accidents on the Industrial Road are frequent because of a combination of heavy traffic and careless driving, according to local people.
Saudi Arabia has one of the world’s highest rates of road accidents, according to a report issued by the transport ministry.
Official reports indicate that more than 35,000 people died and over 200,000 were injured in traffic accidents during the past 10 years.
