Seven Bangladeshis from same district killed in Saudi road crash
Seven Bangladeshis, including women and children, have been killed in a tragic road crash in Saudi Arabia while travelling from Madina to Jeddah. Six more were injured. All 13 of the victims hail from Cox's Bazar district.
The crash took place at around 2am local time on Friday (6 November) in the Al-Himna area. The Bangladesh Consulate in Jeddah formally confirmed the information on Saturday night.
According to the consulate, the victims were returning from Madina to Jeddah when the crash happened. Among the seven dead are four members of Ziaur Rahman's family, two members of Alam Shah's family and one member of Mohammad Iliyas's family.
The dead include Ziaur Rahman, a storekeeper at the Al-Abir Cold Store Trading Company, his two sons Yasir and Yazan, and his daughter Bushra. The loss of four members of one family has cast a pall of grief over their relatives.
Ziaur Rahman's wife Shakira and their daughter Yusra were injured in the crash. Shakira is being treated at Khulais General Hospital and Yusra at King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Jeddah.
The other family lost Alam Shah's wife Sanjida and their daughter Faria. Alam Shah was discharged after primary treatment, while their son Faisal is under treatment at East Jeddah Hospital.
Afsana Bibi, the wife of Mohammad Iliyas, who had come to Saudi Arabia a few days earlier to perform Umrah, also died in the crash. Iliyas returned home from hospital after primary treatment.
Another Bangladeshi injured in the crash, Gofur Alam, is under treatment at Khulais General Hospital. The bodies of the dead have been kept in the morgue of the local hospital.
A preliminary investigation found that the vehicle was being driven by a Pakistani driver. At the time of the crash the vehicle was travelling at about 160 kilometres per hour. The traffic department's initial assessment is that the driver lost control because of excessive speed and the vehicle overturned.
The driver, however, claims that a burst tyre caused the accident. Detailed information about the exact cause of the crash is still awaited.
According to the Makkah branch, four of the passengers worked for the Al-Abir company in Saudi Arabia, and they were accompanied by relatives who had come for Umrah and family visits. All of the dead were residents of Chakaria upazila in Cox's Bazar.
Soon after the incident, officials of the labour wing of the Bangladesh Consulate General in Jeddah visited the local traffic office and the hospitals. Diplomatic steps have been taken to send the bodies home quickly and to ensure proper treatment for the injured.
The death of seven Bangladeshis in a single crash has caused deep grief among their relatives, colleagues and Bangladeshi expatriates living in Saudi Arabia. The authorities have not yet confirmed when the bodies will be sent home.
