TRAGEDY STRIKES THE KINGDOM

Just a few days ago I posted an article on my blog regarding the celebratory usage of gunfire at weddings whereby the minister of the interior, Prince Ahmed called for a country wide ban on the use of live firearms during wedding celebrations amid public concerns as there has been numerous fatal accidents that have occurred thereby marring what should have been a happy and blissful occasion. The ministers stance was definitely not taken seriously as proven this week. At least 25 people were electrocuted during a wedding ceremony in the Eastern province on Tuesday. According to Abdullah Khashman, an Eastern Province official, celebratory gunfire brought down an electric cable at a house in Ain badr village where the wedding was held on Tuesday night.Thirty others were injured in the incident near Abqaiq, a centre of the Saudi energy industry.

In a separate incident, 25 people have been killed and scores of others injured when a truck carrying flammable liquids crashed in Riyadh city causing a massive explosion yesterday morning. The accident occurred on Khurais road, where the driver of the tanker was trying to steer clear from an accident scene. However, his efforts failed dismally causing the back portion of the tanker to slam into a concrete flyover. Eye witnesses at the scene reported that the driver got out of the vehicle and started running after realizing that there was a gas leak. The explosion was so huge that my friends residing in the Olaya area, approximately 20 km from the epicenter could hear the blast. Apparently the blast measured 2.2 on the richter scale. My colleague Abdulla informed me that his brother resides one km from where the blast occurred. All of the houses in his neighbourhood are damaged with shattered windows and broken doors. Most of the victims were from the National Guard hospital as they were reporting to work in the early hours of the morning. An industrial building, several storeys high was brought to the ground. Various other buildings in the vicinity were also destroyed. In the wake of all the disaster, the Saudi government has stated that it would compensate all the families of the victims that have lost their lives or are critically ill in hospital. Damaged property and vehicles will also be compensated for by the government two fold. Critically injured victims were rushed to the National Guard hospital.

Source:

http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/saudi-arabia-wedding-guests-electrocuted-094239354.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/11/201211152712448325.html

http://www.almuraba.net/news_view_4924.html (For more pictures of the aftermath, click on this link)