35 dead in traffic accident in Medina

Thirty-five foreigners were killed and four others injured after a bus crashed with another heavy vehicle in western Saudi Arabia, state media said on Thursday.

The agency, quoting police in Saudi Arabia's Medina province, said the crash happened around 7 p.m. Wednesday on the road linking Mecca to the city of Medina.

The accident involved a collision between "a private chartered bus... with a heavy vehicle (loader), in Al-Akhal Center in Madinah area, resulting in the death of (35) and the injury of (4) of its passengers," a spokesman for Madinah police said, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia say 35 pilgrims have been killed in a bus crash near the Muslim holy city of Mecca.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported Thursday that four others were injured in the crash. It said the chartered bus carried Asian and Arab nationals, without elaborating.

Police are investigating the incident. Authorities gave no immediate cause for the crash.

Every able-bodied Muslim is required to perform the hajj, or Islam's religious pilgrimage, to Mecca, home of cube-shaped Kabaa that Muslims pray to five times a day. Pilgrims also come during other times of the year as well.

Source: Agenices

Dhaka/Mukul