Gulf | Saudi Arabia
Saudi authorities identify 20 bus passengers burnt to death
At least 20 people were burnt to death ion one of the worst traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia in Riyadh-Dammam highway on Friday night.
- By Abdul Rahman Shaheen, Correspondent
- Published: 16:58 June 13, 2009
Riyadh: At least 20 people were burnt to death ion one of the worst traffic accidents in Saudi Arabia in Riyadh-Dammam highway on Friday night.
The accident took place when a bus of the Saudi Arabian Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) was clipped by a truck which was trying to pass the bus.
The bus caught fire and the passengers were unable to open the door and get out.
The Director of Riyadh Traffic Police, Colonel Abdul Aziz Abu Hamid told Gulf News that the cause of the accident was bad, dusty weather and sand storms.
He added that about 20 water tankerss and seven ambulances from the Civil Defense, Red Crescent Societies and the King Abdulaziz Medical City for National Guard were involved in the rescue operation and in putting out the fire.
For his part, the head of forensic department in Riyadh, Ali Bawazir said that ll of the bodies were completely incinerated and the security authorities began to take DNA samples along with the Department of Forensic Medicine to uncover the identity of the deceased."
Bawazir said that among the dead there were 18 passengers and two drivers - 4 Saudis, 3 Indians, 5 Sri Lankans, 2 Yemenis and 4 other nationalities.
Following are the names of the deceased who were identified through DNA:
Ahmad Abdulla Ali Zafiri , Ahmad Ali Abdullah , Ghlaba Dhaif Al Bishi , Haya Abdullah Al Bishi (all from Saudi Arabia), Sulaiman Salem , Thabit Salih Ali (Yemenis), Mam Raj Singh, Ishak Ahmad , Mirza Rafaatullah (Indians), Mohammad Aslam Khan (Pakistani), Mohammad Ebrahim
(Egyptian), Ihsan Roshan Ali (Bangladeshi), Mohammad Ams, Abdul Ghafour Abi, Mafees Speer , Siji Tayer, Mendes Anwaj (Sri Lankans), Mohammad Abdul Jalil (Sudanese).
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