MANAMA, 6 November 2004 — Five Bahrainis were killed, including a brother and three of his sisters, on the King Fahd Causeway when a Nissan Patrol driven by a 28-year-old Saudi collided head-on with their Saudi registered Nissan Sunny as they returned to Bahrain early yesterday morning.
The accident, which is currently being jointly investigated by the General Directorate of Traffic (GDT) and the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID), occurred at 12.15 a.m. on the Bahraini side of the bridge.
The two cars collided after the Nissan Patrol that was heading toward Saudi Arabia and driven by Faisal Abdulrahman Saeed lost control and swerved left jumping the dividers and hitting the Nissan Sunny head-on.
Bader Nabeel Mohammed Al-Gharear, 20, who was driving the Sunny was trapped in the wreck while his sisters, Ameena, 24, Asma, 21, and Hanan, 17, were killed instantly. Bader was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
Another Bahraini woman, who was only identified as 19-year-old M.M.N., was also killed in the accident.
Her body was found on the rocks near the seaside of the causeway by the accident scene. The woman was believed to have been a passenger in Saeed’s car after investigation’s revealed that some of her hair was found in his car and investigators failed to verify her entry into Bahrain with Al Gharear family who were returning from a visit to their grandparents in Saudi Arabia.
Saeed, the sole survivor of the tragedy, suffered multiple broken injuries. He was rushed to the BDF Hospital in an ambulance where his condition was said to be stable and non-critical. According to sources he had denied having a passenger on-board with him at the time of the accident.
The four Bahraini siblings were buried in Muharraq yesterday following afternoon prayers, while M.M.N.’s sister arrived in Bahrain from Saudi Arabia last evening to claim her sister’s body and arrange for burial.
Three units with fifteen firefighters from the Civil Defense and Fire Service (CDFS) for Budayia and King Fahd Causeway responded to the scene of the accident led by Lt. Col. Mohammed Al-Khabai.
Three Najdah units, two ambulances, one from Salmaniya Medical Complex and another from the BDF Hospital, and a coast guard unit that conducted search and rescue efforts supported the CDFS. The head of the GDT, Col. Hassan Al-Sameem with almost all the top ranking officers of the directorate also took part in the efforts and began an immediate investigation into the accident.
