Three Indonesian victims in Saudi bus crash require medical treatment

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, confirmed that three out of the 14 Indonesians who survived the bus crash on the Medina-Mecca highway on Thursday (March 20) still require intensive medical treatment.

Consul General Yusron Ambary stated during an online press conference on Friday that the three victims were evacuated and treated at separate hospitals.

"The first victim, Fabian Respati, aged 14, is now being treated at Abdul Aziz Hospital after suffering serious burns," Ambary stated, adding that Respati's family is on its way to Saudi Arabia to assist and accompany him.

Meanwhile, Ahsantudhonni Ghozali, 55, is being treated for broken bones at Khulais Hospital, while Muhammad Alawi, 22, is receiving medical treatment for fractured bones at Jeddah's Obhur Hospital.

Ambary assured that the other 11 victims could proceed with their Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca after completing the agenda in Medina before the accident.

The consulate general will continue to assist the injured victims and coordinate with the Saudi authority and the victims' families for the handling and burial of the six deceased Indonesian victims.

"We are also communicating with the Umrah travel agent and the local service provider to monitor the conditions for the Indonesian pilgrims who continued their pilgrimage programme," Ambary added.

Earlier, six Indonesians in a pilgrimage group were killed after their bus was involved in a road accident in the Medina-Mecca highway section in Wadi Qudaid, some 150 km north of Jeddah, on Thursday local time.

While Saudi authorities continue to investigate the root cause of the crash, the Indonesian Consulate General has received preliminary information that the accident occurred after the bus collided with another vehicle that attempted to overtake it.

The collision caused the bus to veer off course into the desert at the side of the highway, flip to its side, and become engulfed in flames.