Ibrahim Al-Hussain

 

Saudi Gazette

 

AHSA — A number of passengers fainted and a pregnant woman started bleeding when their train from Dammam to Riyadh broke down in a desert area on Sunday.



The train stopped 202 km away from Hofuf and was stranded for three hours before an emergency locomotive was sent to tow it back.



Fahd Al-Ghamdi, spokesman of the Saudi Red Crescent in the Eastern Province, said their operations room received a call after Maghreb prayer from a passenger who informed dispatchers that the train had broken down. The man said his daughter, who was five-months’ pregnant, had started bleeding and other passengers had fainted.



The spokesman said the passenger could not specify where the train had stopped so rescue teams and paramedics could be dispatched.



He added that they called the Saudi Railway Organization (SRO), which had no idea about the accident. “We called the passenger again and gave him some first aid instructions for his daughter until we arrived,” he said.



Al-Ghamdi told Alarabiya.net that at 7.30 p.m. three rescue teams were sent to the main railway station in Ahsa to deal with any emergency cases when the train arrived.



He said upon the arrival of the train, the pregnant woman was sent to a maternity and child hospital and her condition was stable.



The SRO said one of the train’s engines broke down 177 km away from Hofuf. The train continued its trip using the second engine, which then broke down 202 km away from Hofuf.



It said the passengers were supplied with food and medical care and were given the option to travel to Riyadh by another train, Saudi Public Transport Company (SAPTCO) buses or private cars.