Checkpoint blaze causes 25km-long tailback at border
At least seven trucks were completely destroyed but no one was injured in the incident, which has since led to a long tailback
Abu Dhabi A major fire that broke out on Wednesday at a security checkpoint in Al Bat'ha, Saudi Arabia, has led to a 25km-long truck queue on the UAE-Saudi border, Gulf News has learnt.
The Al Bat'ha checkpoint is approximately 4km from the UAE's Ghuwaifat checkpoint.
According to eyewitness accounts, at least seven trucks were completely destroyed but no one was injured in the incident, which has since led to a long tailback.
"We [have been] stranded here [for the past] two days because of the fire and are able to move only a few kilometres [over] several hours," Joseph, an affected truck driver, said yesterday.
"The queue is more than 25km long now. The situation is especially worse because the traffic is much higher on weekends comparatively."
The drivers said the UAE Red Crescent Authority distributed food and water to those affected.
An Interior Ministry official said on Thursday that trucks from the UAE were not being allowed into Saudi Arabia till tomorrow because of the fire.
He, however, declined to give details about the fire owing to the fact that it had not occurred within the UAE.
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