Zain Al-Abideen Khaled Saudi Gazette MADINAH – Five passengers were killed and 34 others injured Wednesday morning when a bus operated by the Saudi Arabian Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) overturned on Hail-Madinah Highway. The bus hit the side of the pavement and overturned trapping the majority of the passengers inside, Civil Defense sources said. Five Civil Defense rescue units arrived at the scene and pulled out passengers trapped inside the wreckage. Saudi Red Crescent ambulances and a medevac helicopter evacuated the injured passengers to the nearest hospital, Col. Khaled Al-Juhani, spokesman for Madinah Civil Defense said. There has been a marked increase in reported cases of road accidents since the beginning of summer holidays. Three men and two women were killed in a head-on collision between two SUVs on the Haql-Tabuk road the other day. Highway patrol transferred the sole survivor of the crash to a nearby hospital for treatment, local media reported.
