Okaz/Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — A five-year-old boy had a tragic death on Sunday when he was left inside a rented private school bus in the Qatif governorate in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Hassan Hashim Al-Shoala died of suffocation due to the alleged forgetfulness of the bus driver. The security and education authorities in the region started a probe into the tragedy.

The mishap happened when the driver locked up and left the bus without confirming all the students had left the bus. Sources told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the kindergartner died of suffocation after being left inside the bus, unnoticed by the bus driver.

Saeed Al-Bahes, spokesman of the Education Department in the Eastern Province, said that the mishap happened as a result of the forgetfulness of the driver who failed to ensure that there was no student inside the bus before locking it up.

“The Education Department in the region, under the close follow-up of its Director Dr. Sami Al-Otaibi, has constituted a working team to visit the school and carry out the necessary procedures related to all aspects of the tragic incident.

On behalf of the entire education community in the Eastern Province, Al-Bahes expressed deep sorrow over the death of the student and offered condolences to his bereaved family members.