Four British nationals have died and 12 others have been injured after their coach collided with a petrol tanker in Saudi Arabia.
The UK Foreign Office said the victims of the crash were on a pilgrimage to the Islamic holy site of Mecca. The tanker caught fire following the collision on Saturday, setting the bus alight.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the British families of those who have died and those injured.”
Blackburn-based company Hashim Travel, which organised the trip, said those killed were an elderly woman and her adult son, and an elderly man, all from Preston, and a woman from Blackburn. A total of 18 people were on the coach.
The company’s director, Gulfaraz Zaman, said: “The coach driver said they were travelling in the opposite direction to the petrol tanker when a car overtook the tanker and he had to move in to the side of the road a little to let it through, but then the petrol tanker hit the coach, which caught fire.”
Describing the incident as “horrendous”, Zaman told the BBC: "If you see the remains of the bus, there's just the metal frame of it that's left. It's very upsetting - especially the people that have passed away. Our thoughts are with the families.”
The driver of the petrol tanker is also believed to have died, reports The Independent. The victims’ families are flying out to Saudi Arabia today.
-
Did Alex Pretti’s killing open a GOP rift on guns?Talking Points Second Amendment groups push back on the White House narrative
-
The 8 best hospital dramas of all timethe week recommends From wartime period pieces to of-the-moment procedurals, audiences never tire of watching doctors and nurses do their lifesaving thing
-
‘Implementing strengthened provisions help advance aviation safety’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
