He said most of these cases were urgently transported to King Abdulaziz Hospital in Jeddah and Al-Noor Hospital in Makkah.

Al-Joufi said the air ambulance squadron had successfully completed its operations during the Umrah season, which began mid-Ramadan and ended on Saturday after making 56 sorties.

Civil Defense introduced the air ambulance service for the first time last year. It has been immensely successful in the prompt rescue of accident victims.

Al-Joufi said the air rescue ambulance attended three different accidents during the Eid Al-Fitr holidays.

“Two of our aircraft airlifted two people who were seriously injured when their car overturned on the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway on the second day of the Eid. The injured people were taken to King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Jeddah,” he said.

Al-Joufi said last Friday, the fourth day of Eid, the air ambulance airlifted two people who were seriously injured in a car accident on Al-Sahel Road and another person injured in an accident on Saturday on the same road to King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Jeddah.

Al-Joufi said the experience of the air ambulance would be thoroughly evaluated so as to avoid any mishaps during the Haj pilgrimage.

The Civil Defense has five modern and well-equipped aircraft, including a recently-acquired S-70i Black Hawk.