RIYADH, 30 March 2008 — The death toll from Thursday’s horrific accident when a bus went up in flames after colliding with an oil tanker at Jalajil near Majma on Riyadh-Qassim Highway has reached nine.
Four passengers, including one with third-degree burns, are in intensive care at King Khaled Hospital in Majma, 120 km from Riyadh. Another 23 people received treatment for less serious injuries.
“The number of deaths could still go up,” said Waqar Ahmed, community welfare attaché at the Pakistan Embassy. “The bus was insured and the legal heirs of those killed will receive blood money... At least four bodies were burned beyond recognition,” he added.
“Fifteen other Pakistani pilgrims are in good health and they will be taken to Riyadh, where the embassy will issue them with temporary passports to travel to Bahrain on Sunday... We are also seeking permission from relatives to bury those killed in the Kingdom,” he added.
S.M. Haroonur Rashid, spokesman for the Bangladeshi Embassy, told Arab News that one Bangladeshi passenger was on a life support after suffering massive burns. “The condition of Mohammed Chand Miyan is critical and two other Bangladeshis are in intensive care,” he said, adding that other injured Bangladeshis are getting treatment at hospitals in Majma and Hota Sudair.
Representatives from the Pakistan, Indian and Bangladeshi embassies said most of the dead would be buried in Saudi Arabia, as many of the bodies are burned beyond recognition.
Mohammed Al-Hakeem, owner of the Al-Hakeem Haj & Umrah Group, the operator with which the pilgrims were traveling, offered his condolences to the relatives of the dead and said he was on his way to the Kingdom to provide help to survivors. Bahrain also sent an emergency delegation on the orders of Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa ibn Salman Al-Khalifa.
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry confirmed that 18 passengers still remained in hospital while 19 others had been discharged after treatment.
The bus was carrying 48 passengers, including 20 Pakistanis, 15 Indians, 12 Bangladeshis and a Bahraini driver.
The dead include Tariq Bahadur Khan Ismail, Qamar Ahmed Bashir, Mohammed Syed Azhar, Mohammed Aleem and Mohammed Khalil (Pakistanis), Sarfuddin Ahmed and K.T.B. Fawaz (Indians) and the Bahraini driver. One body has not yet been identified.
