Three people were killed and eight others were injured in separate road tragedies that befell two Asian expatriate families on Friday evening.

Six of the eight injured are battling for their lives at two different hospitals.

The first accident occurred near the village of Al-Mahad, some 50 km from Madinah, at 6 p.m. on Friday, said Naif Al-Ahmadi of Saudi Red Crescent Authority's Madinah branch on Saturday.

One person was killed on the spot in the first accident and two others are in critical condition, while six sustained moderate injuries.

The Red Crescent dispatched two rescue teams and ambulances immediately to the scene and the casualties were shifted to Al-Mahad hospital.

In the second accident, a Jeddah-based Indian family that was returning from Riyadh after spending holidays in the capital saw life change in the blink of an eye when their car tire blew out on the Riyadh-Makkah highway, killing a woman and a child and injuring four critically.

The injured have been admitted to the Afif and Kasra hospitals on Riyadh Road.