A recruit at the Public Security Training City in Madina was taken to King Fahd Hospital on Thursday after he was stricken by sunstroke and fell unconscious during a daily training period. The recruit was moved to the hospital more than two hours after the incident. According to medical sources, the recruit, Saad Al-Rasheedi, is in a state of coma and has been put on a ventilator. Maj. Gen. Awad Bin Sa'eed Al-Sarhani, Director of Police in Madina, said that during the summer, recruits only attend training classes in the morning, when the temperature is relatively low. He said the medical report sent by the hospital shows that the heat affected Al-Rasheedi's brain functions, and that he is suffering from hypotension, acute kidney malfunctioning and palpitations. Al-Sarhani said doctors diagnosed the case as being very dangerous because Al-Rasheedi's temperature shot to 42.6°C, and because he was left lying at the center for more than two hours after he collapsed. Meanwhile, the temperature in Dammam on Friday reached 49 degree Centigrade, the highest in the Kingdom. Riyadh and Buraidah were second highest at 47°C and Madina was third at 46°C, according to a report from the Presidency for Meteorology and Environment.
