19 pilgrims killed, 22 injured in bus accident in Saudi Arabia
Initial investigation revealed that the bus driver slept behind the wheel and lost control of the vehicle. -Pix for illustration purposes only
At least 19 Arab pilgrims were killed and 22 others injured on Saturday in a traffic accident on a road linking Saudi Arabia's holy cities Mecca and Medina, China's Xinhua news agency reported citing local news website Sabq.
Initial investigation revealed that the bus driver slept behind the wheel and lost control of the vehicle.
The 19 fatalities died at the scene, while the 22 injured suffered medium and serious injuries.
The news portal said all the pilgrims are of the same Arab nationality without revealing the exact country, while the driver is an Asian.
Deaths of pilgrims in traffic accidents occur regularly in Saudi Arabia which has high traffic fatalities, mainly because of over speeding and reckless driving.
According to a report published on Arab News last year, at least one traffic accident occurs in the kingdom every minute.
Saudi Arabia witnesses up to 7,000 deaths and over 39,000 injuries per year.
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