MAJMAA, 1 March — Eight pilgrims were killed and at least 32 others were injured in a bus accident in eastern Saudi Arabia yesterday morning. The bus was heading toward Kuwait carrying pilgrims returning home from Makkah.
The accident occurred when the bus skidded off the Hafr Al-Baten Road at Om Aljamajem, 130 kilometers east of Zulfi, informed sources told Arab News here.
The bus was carrying more than 40 pilgrims, including Bangladeshis and Pakistanis resident in Kuwait.
Ambulances belonging to the Saudi Red Crescent and the Ministry of Health took the injured to various hospitals in Ortawiah, Majmaa and Zulfi.
This is the second major bus accident in eastern Saudi Arabia involving pilgrims this year.
Forty pilgrim were killed in a highway collision in Ahsa on Feb. 13. The pilgrims were on their way to Makkah to perform the Haj. The accident occurred when the bus with more than 60 pilgrims from the United Arab Emirates, collided head-on with a truck carrying heavy material. Thirty-seven Pakistanis were among the 40 pilgrims killed.
A number of other road accidents involving pilgrims were reported.
Nearly two million Muslims performed this year’s Haj which the authorities have declared trouble free. Officials have reported no accidents during stoning at the 1.6 km Jamrat Bridge, traditionally the most troublesome part of the Haj. According to government figures, 1.35 million pilgrims came from abroad.
