TAIF: Four Pakistani youngsters died in a horrible road accident near Taif on Wednesday morning. Among them was 23-year-old Hamza, son of a Jeddah-based journalist, Jamil Rathore.
“They were on their way back to Jeddah after spending Eid holidays in Taif,” the grieving father told Arab News from Makkah yesterday.
“All of them were childhood friends,” said Rathore, and identified the other three victims as Shabiz, Shahab and Munawwar.
There were five of them in a Toyota Camry. The one who was driving survived, but has received serious injuries. They were coming back via the single-track Jeddah-Taif road that is reserved for non-Muslims to help them avoid getting into the holy city Makkah.
According to Rathore, the car met with a head-on collision with a huge trailer and burst into flames. The four young men died on the spot. Their bodies were taken to a hospital in Makkah.
The burials will take place after the mandatory permission from the Makkah governorate is granted. Hamza Jamil had joined his parents in Saudi Arabia only three months ago after successfully completing his graduate studies in Pakistan.
Jeddah’s community of journalists expressed condolences to Rathore and to the relatives of the other victims.
“This is a big tragedy; the loss of four young lives in such terrible circumstances is shocking,” said Amir M. Khan, chairman of Pakistan Journalists Forum.
“Our prayers are with the grieving parents and relatives; may Allah give them the patience to bear the loss of their loved ones.”