Four Jordanians killed in road accidents in Saudi Arabia

AMMAN — Two Jordanians died and two others were injured in a road accident on Wednesday night in Saudi Arabia during their journey to perform Hajj, the Foreign Ministry announced Thursday. 

A medical evacuation plane was sent to Saudi Arabia Thursday to bring home dead and injured Jordanian upon directives of His Majesty King Abdullah, the ministry’s spokesperson Sabah Al Rafie told The Jordan Times.

Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, is one of the five pillars of Islam and the religious high point of a Muslim’s life, and it is performed during a five-day period from the ninth through the 13th of Dhu Al Hijjah, the 12th month of the Muslim lunar calendar.

Rafie identified the dead as Radwan and Ziad Shraideh Al Daajah, adding that the injured were also from the same family, describing their health condition as critical.

The four Jordanians, who were travelling in their private car, were transferred to King Khalid Hospital in Hael in Saudi Arabia, the spokesperson noted.

Another Jordanian family had a road accident on Tuesday night in Saudi Arabia’s Jouf area while heading back to the Kingdom, resulting in the death of a mother and her daughter and the injury of two sons, the official noted. 

The family were from Irbid’s Omari tribe.

Bodies and the injured young men were brought back home Thursday morning through land borders by relatives who travelled to Saudi Arabia to do so, Rafie said, adding the injured were reported to be in fair conditions. 

The foreign ministry official estimated the Jordanian community in Saudi Arabia to exceed 400,000 people, making it the biggest community of Jordanians abroad.