By Mohammed Al-Muwailhi

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

DHIBA — School bus driver Mohammed Salim will never forget the moment when the tires of his bus carrying secondary school girls in Dhiba, Tabuk, suddenly plunged deep into the ground, leaving them stuck in the middle of the road.

When the bus hit the sands, it skidded and was about to overturn. Salim pressed the brakes hard and he somehow managed to stop the vehicle before it skidded further and turned upside down.

He asked the girls to alight and cover the remaining distance to their school on foot.

“I will never in my life forget the scared looks on the faces of the girls who were certain that the bus would overturn and they might die or sustain serious injuries in the accident,” Salim said.

He said the tires plunged because the contractor who was implementing a sewage project did not fill the holes he dug up as per specifications.

“The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture should hold the contractor responsible for the substandard execution of the project,” he said.

Salim did not identify the contractor but said he left the road without any asphalt layer for more than two weeks, causing the sandy mud to slide at the touch of the screeching bus tires.

“I lived through an extremely difficult moment. The girl students were frightened and started screaming. I had to ask them to disembark from the vehicle for their safety,” he said.

The parents lauded the courage and the rational decision of the driver who saved their daughters’ lives.

Mohammed Abdullah said the driver was on the right track when suddenly the bus tires plunged into the ground.

He said the contractor filled the tunnel with sand, did not cover it with asphalt and left it without any concrete barriers to warn passing drivers.

“The land was not able to bear the heavy weight of the bus. Had it not been for the quick decision of the driver, the bus would have overturned,” Abdullah said.

Saed Eid commended the intelligence of the driver and said his quick decision to evacuate the girls was also wise.

Eid called for severely punishing the contractor who did not block the road with concrete barriers so that vehicles would not come close to it.