They say the bodies of people, especially those who have died in traffic accidents in remote regions, remain unattended for several hours.

They complained that it is very difficult to contact the municipality’s center that deals with the transportation of bodies.

“Most often, the toll free number 940 remains busy. As a result, the  bodies remain on the roads and pavements for several hours,” one resident said.

Saudi Red Crescent sources say that it is not their responsibility to take such bodies to hospitals, but the municipality’s.

Municipality sources unveiled the local authority’s plans to improve its facilities for the transportation of bodies by adding 20 ambulances to its fleet and furnishing them with highly advanced equipment and systems,  Al-Madinah Arabic daily reported.

Saudi citizen Muhammad Abu Saud hoped that the municipality would make available more ambulances to carry bodies by handing the responsibility to other branch municipalities, rather than a single center.

“This is a big headache for the public. When somebody dies in an accident, especially in remote areas or out of duty hours, it is very difficult to contact the concerned agencies to remove the body from the scene,” he said.

“When we contact the Red Crescent, their usual reply is that their duty is restricted only to taking injured people to hospitals and that removing bodies is the responsibility of municipalities. If we contact the municipality center, we find the number either busy or the call goes unanswered.”

Hussein Al-Modabigi said people he knows also had the same problem when they tried to contact the municipality center to notify them if someone had died.

“Most often, the center was not responding to calls by citizens, especially those calling from their homes. The staff at the center also works during certain hours. They normally respond to calls from security agencies, such as the police and criminal investigation department and some hospitals,” he said, adding that if the center sets aside a separate number to deal with such calls, then there would be no incidents of bodies remaining unattended on public roads for several hours.

“In some cases, the bodies were taken to hospitals after they started decomposing under the scorching sun,” he added.

Nami Al-Sharif, a director at the Jeddah municipality, said the authority has plans to buy 20 ambulances to add to its fleet of 10 by the beginning of next year.

He said these vehicles would be equipped with highly advanced facilities, including GPS (global positioning system), monitors with follow-up information, and satellite navigation.

He added that his department foresees no major difficulties in reaching accident scenes other than traffic congestion.

“Our ambulances are working round-the-clock. They rush to the accident spots whenever they receive calls. We are working in coordination with the police, Civil Defense, traffic police and hospital authorities in this respect,” he said.

Al-Sharif disclosed that the municipality managed to transport as many as 1,304 bodies last year.

These also include bodies taken for burial or repatriation from various hospitals. The municipality also bathed 1,797 bodies before taking them for burial to 136 graveyards in the Jeddah region during the same period, he added.

Al-Sharif also disclosed that the municipality has signed a contract with a Saudi company to take bodies from accident spots to hospitals as well as complete necessary procedures. “We always monitor how well the company is doing and make it accountable for any shortcomings,” he said.

Speaking to the newspaper, Ali Al-Ghamdi, director of public relations at the Red Crescent in Makkah region, said that transporting bodies from accident scenes was not his organization's responsibility.

“Our mission is to rush those who have sustained injuries to hospital. Sometimes, we also take bodies purely on humanitarian grounds,” he added.