MAKKAH: More than 40 pilgrims suffered various injuries when two buses collided head-on in the plain of Arafat yesterday.
The pilgrims were out sightseeing when the collision took place.
Capt. Fawzi Al-Ansari, spokesman for Makkah Traffic Department, said the pilgrims on board the buses were from Iran and Morocco. The injured were taken to Al-Noor Specialist Hospital and King Abdul Aziz Hospital.
“Luckily no one died in the accident,” Al-Ansari said.
“The Traffic police, the Civil Defense and the Red Crescent attended the accident scene. Investigations are currently under way to determine the cause of the accident,” he added.
Dr. Hatim Al-Amri, an official at Al-Noor Specialist Hospital, said his hospital sent paramedics to tend to those injured at the accident site.
“A part of our emergency center was also evacuated to cater for incoming injured pilgrims. Our hospital received 26 accident victims,” he said.
“One of the victims was admitted into intensive care, and another was taken for immediate surgery to his right hand. The rest of the victims sustained mainly medium and minor injuries, and bruises,” Al-Amri added.
Five Malaysian pilgrims died on Wednesday when the bus they were traveling in lost control and crashed into a small mountain about 46 km outside Madinah. There were 20 pilgrims on the bus, which was taking them from Makkah to Madinah.
