Ten Pakistani Umrah performers were killed and 23 injured in a bus accident Saturday near Al-Masma Bridge, 5 km from Wadi Qadid north of Jeddah. According to eyewitnesses, the accident took place on the road linking Makkah and Madina. More than 14 ambulances and paramedical teams from Qadid, Thuwal, Settara, Khelais, Rabegh, Dhaban, Al-Hamna and Jeddah reached the scene of the accident and rushed the injured to nearby hospitals. Civil Defense rescue teams had to cut through the mangled remains of the bus to retrieve the injured passengers. Teams from the Road Security cordoned off the accident area, and opened new tracks for vehicles. The hospitals in the vicinity of the accident declared a state of emergency. Khelais General Hospital received 16 of the injured passengers.
