Judge Khalid Al-Jasser of the Riyadh General Court issued the verdict last week. The coach was fully insured with a private company in the Kingdom.

The victims including five Sri Lankans died in the accident when the Hofuf-bound bus, which was owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) collided with a truck entering from a shoulder lane during a sandstorm.

The victims burned to death as the bus caught fire after crashing into the truck. The accident happened about 30 km east of Riyadh.

According to reports, the crash happened during a heavy sandstorm that had reduced visibility considerably. The accident took place at 8.30 p.m., an hour after the bus had departed from the main bus terminal in Aziziyah, located in south Riyadh.

The dead Sri Lankans were Segu Atham Lebbe Meera Lebbe Thayar of Nintavur, Subair Mafeez of Akkaraipattu, Sulaiman Lebbe Abdul Gafoor of Sammanthurai, Mohamed Anis Mohamed Amza of Addalachenai, and W.G. Mendis Appuhamy from Kandy.

Four of the five victims were newly arrived construction workers. “They arrived in Riyadh and were proceeding to their workplace in Hofuf, some 300 km from Riyadh,” a diplomat from the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh told Arab News.

They were buried in the Kingdom after their family members gave their consent to the embassy.

During the police inquiry, relatives of Abdul Gafoor and Mohammed Amza were brought to the Kingdom at the state expense to identify the bodies through DNA tests. The relatives of the other victims also gave DNA samples to forensic experts for necessary identification.

An embassy official said Mendis’ family would get only SR50,000 as per the verdict.