RIYADH, 30 November 2003 — Eight people were killed and 37 injured in the early hours of Friday morning when their bus careened down a hill at Al-Salam, about 280 from Taif, on the Riyadh-Taif Expressway.
Muhammad Haris, a passenger, told Arab News that the accident occurred when the driver fell asleep at the wheel and lost control of the vehicle, which careened down the hill amid the screams of the terrified passengers.
The injured included four Indians as well as a number of Pakistanis, Sudanese and other nationalities. Some were admitted to the intensive care unit of Afif General Hospital while others were undergoing treatment at King Abdul Aziz Hospital and King Faisal Hospital in Taif.
Those admitted to the ICU were Hafez Aminuddin and Muhammad Nasser Siddique. The injured included Siddique Torteen, Rida Al-Abari, Ajmal Muhammad Rafeeq, Najmuddin Muhammad, Arshad Mohiuddin, Ateemuddin, Mukarram Muhammad Khan, Mumtaz Mohiuddin, Muhammad Qazkhan, Muhammad Ayub Khan, Abdullah Kutty, Muhammad Jameel, Muhammad Akhtar and Zafar Iqbal Hussein.
The bus carrying 50 expatriate passengers was heading to Riyadh from Jeddah when the accident took place.
Dr. Khaled Al-Sameeri, director of health in Taif, said: “Four passengers who suffered serious injuries were taken to King Abdul Aziz Specialist Hospital using civil defense helicopters.”
