RIYADH, 2 February 2008 — Sixteen men were killed and 18 injured when a Saudi Electric Company (SEC) bus carrying about 35 laborers and a GMC carrying four people collided head-on Thursday evening in Abqaiq, 340 km east of Riyadh. All four traveling in the GMC were killed in the accident; two of the passengers were confirmed to be Bangladeshi nationals.
Bangladesh Ambassador Iqramul Haque confirmed that a total of 11 Bangladeshis died in the accident, nine of who were working for the SEC. The other two Bangladeshis were working for Bamco Saudi Arabia, a construction company based in Abqaiq. Of the 18 injured, 13 were Bangladeshis. Haque released the names of the deceased Bangladeshis: Talib Arifur Rahman, Akhtar Abdul Kader, Kokan Ali Muneerul Islam, Mamoon Mintu Haleem, Habibullah Abdul Halim, Ahad Ali Mehboobur Rahman, Ziauddin Amin Khan, Muhammad Juhid Bilan, Muhammad Yaseen, Muhammad Kurshid Muhammad Sulaiman and Shiabuddin Saleem Miah. The last two men on the list worked for Bamco.
“The dead were identified at the morgue and an official was going to the three hospitals to offer assistance to the injured,” added Haque. Seven of the injured Bangladeshis are in critical condition, according to a source.
An official at the Pakistani Embassy said last night that three of the dead and five injured were from Pakistan. A police report confirmed that dead included 11 Bangladeshis, three Pakistanis and two Indians.