Saudi accident:

Bodies to be brought to Lanka, compensation for kin

Shirley Wijesinghe & Mohammed rasooldeen in Riyadh

Arrangements have been made to bring the bodies of five Sri Lankans who died in a major road accident in Riyadh-Dammam Highway in Saudi Arabia on Thursday night to Sri Lanka, authorities said.

The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) said that in addition, compensation too would be paid to the next of kin.

The SLBFE added that all the deceased migrant employees were insured under the stipulated scheme ‘Sahana’.

The accident involving a bus and a truck on the Riyadh-Dammam highway resulted in 29 deaths, including that of a child, on Thursday night. Only 21 bodies had been retrieved from the bus. The remaining eight were presumed to have been burnt to ashes.

According to international media the crash which took place at 8.30 pm had been caused due to a heavy sandstorm that had reduced the drivers’ visibility.

According to police reports, a truck sideswiped the bus while passing it resulting the bus to catch fire as its electric doors became locked.

The passengers included five Sri Lankans, four Saudis, three Indians, one Pakistani, one Egyptian, one Bangladeshi and two Sudanese nationals.