DULEM, 9 February 2007 — Two people were killed and nine others injured after a high-speed chase near the border with Yemen resulted in the suspects’ vehicle rolling and crashing, press reports said yesterday.
The crash occurred when a border patrol began pursuing an off-road vehicle carrying 15 people suspected of crossing into the Kingdom illegally.
The Saudi driver and his accomplice, who were believed to be part of a human trafficking network, died in the crash. At least another Saudi was in the vehicle and is recovering at a hospital in Taif.
Officials said two passengers that escaped unhurt fled the scene but police found them hiding in the area six hours later.
Saeed Al-Zahrani, spokesman for the Health Ministry’s branch in Taif, said that the local ministry office received a call at around 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday reporting the accident in the a desert area.
Five Civil Defense and Red Crescent units were dispatched to the scene to help the injured, said border police. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital and later transferred to King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Taif.
Al-Zahrain said seven of the passengers are still recovering in hospital. Two of them remain in critical condition, he added. The injured are three Indians, three Yemenis, a Bangladeshi, a Sudanese and a Saudi.
