Dubai: Seven people, including an Indian, were killed and 33 injured when a bus collided with a fuel tanker about 130 km from Riyadh.

The accident took place yesterday on the Riyadh-Qassim Highway at Jalajil, about 130 km from Riyadh said the Saudi Press Agency.

Four of the injured were in critical condition, SPA said, adding that the accident occurred in central Saudi Arabia.

Three of the passengers escaped unhurt. The pilgrims were on their way home from Medina with Bahrain s Al Hakeem Haj and Umrah Group. One of the Indian victims was named by sources as K T B Fawaz, aged 26.

Indian ambassador to Bahrain Dr Balakrishna Shetty said that as per information available so far, the death of one Indian could be confirmed. The Indian mission in Saudi Arabia is in touch with the local authorities to find out about the identities of others killed, he added.

Bahrain immediately sent an emergency delegation to help deal with the aftermath, under orders from Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.

A statement issued by Civil Defense Directorate of the Riyadh region, said, "Five rescue teams and a few ambulances immediately attended to the crash victims."

"The accident happened around 11 am. The tanker's driver managed to escape," said Mohammed Nasser, an Indian worker.

Eyewitnesses saw passengers scrambling off the bus after it went up in flames.

Traffic authorities in Saudi Arabia have registered over 1.36 million accidents over the past five years which led to about 21,900 deaths.
Source : PTI