MADINAH, 30 July 2007 — Madinah authorities announced that drowning is the second most common accident that causes death among children, after traffic fatalities, Al-Madinah reported yesterday. Ninety percent of the 106 fatalities that have occurred in Madinah since 2001 were children between the ages of one and 14. Investigations concluded that 40 percent of those accidents occurred within three minutes of children in pools or bathtubs going temporarily unsupervised by adults. Authorities issued these findings along with recommendations that pools be secured with a fence, that adults should always supervise young children when they are swimming and that children should be taught how to swim by around age seven.
Family of Six Dies En Route to Umrah
JIZAN, 30 July 2007 — Six family members died in a car crash on the way to Makkah to perform Umrah, Al-Riyadh reported yesterday. The driver of the other vehicle is in critical condition.
2,200 Overstayers Arrested in a Week
MAKKAH, 30 July 2007 — The Passport Department reported arresting 2,200 overstayers in Makkah last week during an ongoing campaign to crack down on illegal residents in the Kingdom. The police lauded the new fingerprinting system that they say has expedited the deportation process. (Illegal residents must be cleared of criminal activity before being deported.) Overstayers are pilgrims who come to the Kingdom legally but overstay their visas; this differs from undocumented migrants who sneak into the Kingdom and have no record of entries.
500 Djibouti Camels Denied Entry Into Market
JEDDAH, 30 July 2007 — More than 500 camels coming in from Djibouti were stopped at the Jeddah Islamic Port because Agriculture Ministry officials say they have an illness or disease. Officials were quick to point out that in previous weeks several thousand livestock (camels, cattle and sheep) from that African country were given bills of clean health and that this is likely an isolated incident, according to Al-Watan yesterday.
