By Hassan Cheruppa

JEDDAH – Six people, including a Saudi citizen and five members of an Indian family, were killed and five Saudis injured in a horrific accident on Friday. The head-on-collision crash between Toyota Land Cruiser and Corolla cars, in which the Saudi and Indian families traveled, occurred at Al-Rain, 200 km from Riyadh, on the Riyadh – Bisha Road. Bodies of the dead were taken to Al-Rain General Hospital while the injured Saudis transferred to Al-Qoya Hospital.

The mishap happened to Pandikasalakandi Muhammad Jabir, aged 44, and his family who hail from Beypore near the Calicut city in the southern Indian state of Kerala, while they were traveling to Jazan. The deceased include Jabir’s wife Shabna and three children – Lufti, Laiba, and Saha. All the five Indian family members in the Corolla car died on the spot.

Jabir, an employee of Abdul Latif Jameel Company, who was transferred from Jubail to Abu Haris branch in Jazan, was on his way to join the new office in Jazan, according to Haris Kallayi, a prominent social worker and leader of Kerala Muslim Cultural Center (KMCC) in Jazan.

Speaking to Saudi Gazette, he said that Jabir and family were accompanied by a truckload of their personal belongings and home appliances during their travel by road from Jubail to Jazan. Even though the truck reached Jazan, the family’s whereabouts were unknown. Their relatives failed to contact them over mobile phone and their car was found missing. The subsequent search and investigation resulted in locating their mangled car on the highway while their bodies were identified at Al-Rain hospital,” said Haris, who is also member of the Indian Consulate Community Welfare Association.

Siddique Thuvvur, chairman of the welfare wing of Riyadh KMCC, told Saudi Gazette from Al-Rain that social workers, in coordination with the Indian embassy, are completing the paper work of final procedures related to the repatriation of bodies to India.