The Syrian pilgrims were coming from Jordan on a bus driven by a Lebanese driver. The bus collided with a truck loaded with foodstuffs heading for Jordan on the Tabarjil road in Al-Jouf.
Director of the Health Affairs Department in Madinah Dr. Abdullah Al-Taiefi said the injured were taken to local hospitals. He added that all of the injured are being well looked after.
Traffic police said this was the third major road accident involving Umrah pilgrims this month.
Seven Pakistani pilgrims died and five others were seriously injured when their bus collided head-on with a truck on the Makkah-Madinah Expressway late Wednesday. The accident happened in the Al-Farie area.
Three Umrah pilgrims and a driver were killed when the bus they were travelling collided with a truck on the Makkah-Madinah Expressway near Khulais, a town located about 85 km north of Jeddah, on March 3.
The bus was carrying 33 Malaysians and an undisclosed number of Indonesian pilgrims to Madinah when it rammed into the rear of the truck that was laden with heavy cargo.
The Haramain Express Train, which is expected to be completed by April 2012, will provide quicker and safer transport to pilgrims. The train will cover the distance between Jeddah and Madinah in two hours, and Jeddah and Makkah in 30 minutes. The price of a train ticket from Jeddah to Makkah will be SR10 and from Makkah to Madinah SR50.
Muhammad Jawharji, chairman of the General Cars Syndicate, said the train service will not put taxis and bus companies out of business. “There is a piece of cake for everyone” in the annual SR16 billion-worth Haj transport sector, he said. “Despite the train service, pilgrims will still need cars to move around in Makkah. Pilgrims will also have the choice of using the railway or road transport.”
Meanwhile, a number of officials involved in the Haj and Umrah sector said there has been a 50 percent drop in the number of Umrah pilgrims this year compared to 2010.
The officials blamed the ongoing political turmoil in several Arab countries for the drop. They, however, added that the situation will improve and the season will soon pick up.
