Saudi man stranded in Tabuk desert for six days rescued by security

Police and volunteers at the rescue site. (Photo courtesy: Okaz)

Hosam Al-Salmi (Photo courtesy: Okaz)

Resident Volunteers who aided in locating Hosam Al-Salmi. (Photo courtesy: Okaz)

TABUK: A young Saudi man stranded in the desert for six days has been found by security officials in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia.
The man, Hosam Al Salmi, drove his own car from Makkah on Thursday toward Tabuk. The distance, slightly more than 1,000 kilometers, should have taken him around 10 hours by car.
However, he contacted his family on Saturday to inform them that he was stranded after he took a wrong turn through the desert and got lost, according to the Saudi Okaz newspaper.
He managed to call security authorities to request help and remained at a hilltop awaiting rescue, briefly before communication with him had been entirely lost by Monday.
He was lost in the desert until authorities and a rescue group managed to find him on Tuesday evening, the newspaper said. Salmi was sent to hospital to ensure his health condition was stable.
His friends and relatives were actively searching for him through Twitter, by creating the hashtag “Searching_for_Hossam_in_Tabuk_desert”.