JEDDAH: At least 11 people died and 46 others were injured in two separate traffic accidents along Riyadh-Makkah Expressway on Thursday.
In the first accident, a bus carrying 48 pilgrims — mostly Saudis and Egyptians — overturned near Huwaimat after it was hit by a car, killing nine and injuring 39.
Afif Hospital received 32 injured pilgrims, said its public relations officer, Muhammad Al-Dhalaie. Four of them have been admitted to the intensive care unit.
“The driver lost control of the bus when a car struck its right side. It overturned several times,” a security officer said. “The accident scene was horrible as parts of bodies littered the road.”
The accident took place while the bus was resuming its journey to Makkah after it stopped near Huwaitmat for the pilgrims to take sahur. Volunteers from Red Crescent Society, Afif Hospital and highway police as well as Civil Defense officers took part in the rescue operation.
A woman and her daughter died in another accident when a car carrying their nine-member family crashed near Huwaimat, Al-Dhalaie said.
Saeed Al-Zahrani, spokesman for the Health Affairs Department in Taif said the department had deployed five first-aid teams to potential accident spots to support other first-aid teams from the Riyadh region.
