JEDDAH, 24 January 2007 — Prince Faisal ibn Abdullah, president of Saudi Red Crescent Society (SRCS), yesterday urged his staff not to use the organization’s second air ambulance helicopter until the completion of investigations into Monday’s crash of an SRCS copter outside Madinah that killed its three crew members.
“The second ambulance helicopter of the society should not be used until the completion of investigations to find out the reasons behind the fall of the helicopter along the Jeddah-Madinah Highway,” Prince Faisal said.
Dr. Khaled Al-Habshi, supervisor of the air ambulance project at the society, said the SRCS chief gave his instructions to stop the use of the second copter in order to make sure the reasons that caused Monday’s crash.
“These kinds of accidents, involving air ambulance planes, take place in many parts of the world,” Habshi said, adding that the organization would not stop air ambulance services as a result of Monday’s accident.
“On the contrary, we are working to further strengthen this service as part of our efforts to provide quick first aid services to the injured on the highways and crowded areas,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted him a saying.
He said Monday’s accident took place at 4.15 p.m. while the copter was returning from Madinah to Jeddah.
The copter’s Bosnian pilot Najat Dastog and Syrian doctors Abdussalam Al-Sheikh and Mahmoud Al-Howail died in the air crash.
