ABHA, 4 March 2008 — The body of the Kenyan driver of a bus that fell off a bridge near Abha killing 28 passengers and injuring five others on Feb. 22 has undergone an autopsy following a request by investigating authorities.
The man, called Aziz, died after the bus he was driving fell into a deep ravine in Okbat Dhalae outside Abha. The bus, belonging to the Saudi Arabian Public Transport Co. (SAPTCO), had left Riyadh and was heading to the town of Sabya in the southern Jizan Region. The driver’s body is currently being held at a morgue at the Abha General Hospital.
SAPTCO officials prevented the co-driver of the bus — a Kenyan national named Abdul Mohsen Saleh — from leaving the area or returning to work while investigations continue. Following his release from hospital, Saleh was kept at an apartment near the Khamis Mushayt police station before he was moved to Riyadh on Sunday.
From his hospital bed, Saleh told Arab News that Aziz took over the bus from him at Khamis Mushayt, 32 km from the site of the accident. Saleh’s statement contradicts a statement made by Transport Minister Jabara Al-Seraisry, who said Aziz took over steering just 3 km before the accident.
Meanwhile, the bodies of 13 people — two of them unidentified — remain at the hospital morgue unclaimed. Twenty-six bodies were recovered from the scene and two people died later in hospital.
Arab News visited three injured passengers still recovering at Asir Central Hospital. Ahmed Hassan, a 23-year-old Yemeni, explained that the vehicle’s engine suddenly stopped after they left a service station in Khamis Mushayt.
He said when the accident occurred the bus was running at 80 km an hour. “The driver lost control of the bus after trying to avoid collision with a Toyota Cressida. The vehicle overturned on the bridge ... because of the speed,” Ahmed said.
A previous SAPTCO statement said the bus was being driven at 30 kmph at the time of the accident.
