RIYADH: Two workers died and five were injured in a road accident that took place recently on the Riyadh-Taif highway, about 550 km from the capital.

According to sources from the Riyadh Equestrian Club, a van was carrying 10 club workers to Taif. The traffic police said it appeared that a tire blowout caused the van to overturn.

“During summer, services of more workers are needed in Taif, so the group of laborers were dispatched from Riyadh to share the extra workload at the Taif club,” a source said.

The dead included Mohammed Ghouse, 28, from India and Manoj Kumar, 25, from Nepal. The five injured are recovering. Two are under treatment after undergoing major surgery, while three sustained minor injuries.

When contacted, Ghouse’s family in India agreed to have the burial in Riyadh, while Kumar’s parents have requested the authorities to repatriate his remains to Katmandu.

The traffic department has repeatedly warned motorists to make sure they use the correct tire tread depth and stick to specified pressure. Recently, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry shuttered four tire-recycling factories in Riyadh, Jeddah and Khamis Mushayt for violating quality and safety regulations.

Inspectors from the ministry and the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization conducted the inspections. Eight factories were warned to improve their processes in six months to avoid closure.

The teams inspected 17 tire-recycling factories in six cities and found that the old tires used for recycling were unfit for this purpose. The factories lacked the required machinery, technically qualified workers and a performance-checking system.

The inspectors closed the four factories after having laboratory tests conducted on the finished products of these establishments. The factories that were granted six months to overhaul their production processes were found not to have kept any record of the tires used for recycling and did not follow warehousing regulations.

If these factories do not abide by the regulations, they would be charged with commercial fraud and their products seized, the ministry warned. It said the inspectors would continue raiding these factories and have their products tested.