JEDDAH, 8 August 2005 — Saudi Arabia is a big place, and in the summer months it is a very hot place. These are facts easily overlooked by motorists rolling along through remote areas with their air-conditioners blasting out cold air.
For those traveling through unfamiliar areas or those who have car trouble, that summer jaunt quickly can turn into a life-threatening situation. In the old days, it was commonplace to hear about people getting lost in the desert and dying there. That did serve as a deterrent for the inexperienced traveler.
Nowadays, an inexperienced traveler may only discover the severity of his situation when he gets lost or runs out of gas. Heat stroke, dehydration, starvation and death may only be a mistake away.
Such tragedies have become rare in recent times because of improved communication and location equipment. If you are lucky enough to get lost in an area with cellular-phone coverage, you may not have quite as big a problem — provided you have a mobile phone with you.
However, there are many roads through remote areas that have no such coverage and little to no traffic on them. That can be unlucky. Many are calling the Saudi Telecom Co. to install communication towers to cover the area especially in Nafud Al-Thurayat desert in the middle region, which has been the scene of many tragedies. In the past, incidents increased sharply in summer months, especially August and September, when hunting parties took to the sands.
Police credit modern communications equipment with reversing that trend. Al-Asyah provincial police reported the case of one lost man who rang them up on his mobile phone to get help even though he had no idea of his location. Police got help from STC and were able to pinpoint the caller’s location and reach him even though he was in terrible condition by the time his ordeal ended.
Col. Muhammad Al-Muhaimeed, chief of Al-Asyah police, said most of the lost reports happen in the Qasim, Nafud and Al-Thurayat deserts in the Eastern Province, with most of the missing seeking a shortcut through the sands or out on a hunting trip.
Not all the stories have happy endings. Police shared the story of a father and son who lost their way in the desert. After their car broke down, the son left his father with the car and went for help. Police launched an intensive search for the two. They found the son dead of thirst very close to a main highway and the father dead inside the car.
In another case, a woman and her infant were found dead underneath a tree, the mother still holding her child. It is not a good way to go. Some of the doomed start removing their clothing to try and beat the heat — it doesn’t work.
Police recalled a man found a few feet from a pile of clothing. In his hand, he held onto his last will, which asked his family to forgive him, to take care of his daughter and to pay the salary to their Sudanese shepherd.
Experts who track the missing make the following recommendations to those who become lost or stranded. Use some of the car’s fuel to make a signal fire on high ground. A deflated spare tire soaked in gasoline will burn for a long time and give off a telltale column of black smoke. In extreme circumstances, the car also could be burned. Police said many people have been saved by using this method.
Whenever traveling across the desert, have large quantities of water on hand. Several cases of bottled water is not too much if you get stranded. Perhaps most importantly, make sure that friends, coworkers or family members at both ends of your journey know your departure time, planned arrival time and your intended route of travel.
With modern automobiles and technology, we can go farther afield, but remember, in the desert when things go wrong they can be deadly if you are not prepared for the worst.
