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Saudi Arabia crash: Six Britons killed and four injured | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Six Britons have been killed in a road crash in Saudi Arabia, the Foreign Office says. | Six Britons have been killed in a road crash in Saudi Arabia, the Foreign Office says. |
It is understood the dead, including a newborn baby, were involved in a minibus crash on a pilgrimage to Mecca. | |
Four members of a family from Manchester and a couple from Glasgow are thought to have been killed in the accident on Wednesday. | |
Four other Britons were injured on the bus, which had 12 people on board, including the baby's mother. | |
Travel firm Haji Tours named the youngest victim as Muhammad Adam Anis, who was just a few months old, and known as Adam. | |
It also named the baby's grandparents among the dead, 64-year-old Khurshid Ahmed and Noshina Ahmed, 49, and family member Rabia Ahmad, 57, who were all from Manchester. | |
The Manchester-based tour operator, which booked the trip, said it has arranged for relatives to fly from London to Saudi Arabia. | |
The couple from Scotland were named by Glasgow Central Mosque as Mohammad Aslam and Talat Aslam, who have five children. | |
Among the injured was a 63-year-old woman, now in a critical condition, while the baby's mother and two children, aged two and four, are in a stable condition, Haji Tours said. | |
A Foreign Office spokesman said consular assistance was being provided to relatives. | A Foreign Office spokesman said consular assistance was being provided to relatives. |
"We are supporting the families of six British people who have sadly died following a road accident in Saudi Arabia," the spokesman said. | "We are supporting the families of six British people who have sadly died following a road accident in Saudi Arabia," the spokesman said. |
"We are also helping several more British nationals who were injured in the crash," he added. | |
"Our thoughts are with the victims and their families at this very difficult time." | "Our thoughts are with the victims and their families at this very difficult time." |
Haji Tours said it was the first accident it had been involved in during nearly 15 years of running tours there. | |
It is believed those involved were in Saudi Arabia for Umrah - a pilgrimage to Mecca which can be undertaken at any time of the year. | |
'Popular' couple | |
The Britons had been in Mecca for five days and were thought to be on their way to the Prophet's Mosque, a holy site in Medina. | The Britons had been in Mecca for five days and were thought to be on their way to the Prophet's Mosque, a holy site in Medina. |
Glasgow Central Mosque said Mr and Mrs Aslam were "popular members of the community". | |
"They had just completed Umrah and were travelling in a minibus," a statement released by the mosque said. | |
"Tragically they were involved in a fatal accident." | |
The statement added: "We would kindly request the family be given space and time to grieve for their loved ones and to come to terms with their sudden loss." | |
Nearly 7,800 people died on Saudi Arabian roads in 2013, according to police records compiled by the World Health Organisation (WHO). | |
The data says 27.4 out of 100,000 Saudis were killed on roads in one year, compared with a recorded 2.9 per 100,000 people living in the UK. |