By Irfan Mohammed
Saudi Gazette
JEDDAH — Since the beginning of Ramadan, Jeddah governorate has witnessed a surge in emergency cases, including road accidents.
In the first 10 days of the month, there were 2,478 emergency cases, mostly accidents, the Saudi Red Crescent Society has revealed.
“We have a special operation plan to deal with emergency cases during the month of Ramadan. We received 1,648 calls for emergency medical aid and 830 road traffic accidents cases,” said Abdullah Abu Zaid, spokesman for the Saudi Red Crescent Society in Jeddah.
He said the majority of the calls were received at iftar time.
Abu Zaid said they received an average of 12 calls per hour in the previous month. “We received a total of 8,246 calls for help last month, out of which 1,342 cases were injuries due to road accidents and 957 due to accidents of other nature. There were 2,599 cases of sudden illnesses, heart attacks and others,” he said.
Abu Zaid said ambulance and emergency teams have been stationed in all major locations to cope with the increase in emergency calls during Ramadan.
Imam killed in accident
A long serving imam of a mosque in Kandara district of central Jeddah was crushed to death by speeding vehicle.
Sheikh Mohammed Baashin, imam for Al-Khair mosque was killed Monday morning on his way to the mosque for Fajr prayer. Well-known among the people of Kandara and Bab Makkah, Sehikh Baashin served at the mosque as imam for more than 40 years.
Thousands of people attended his funeral prayer.
