Bus Crash Kills 22 Pilgrims In Saudi Arabia

Reports say 22 Muslim pilgrims were killed and 24 injured today in a collision between two buses near the border with the United Arab Emirates.

The Saudi Press Agency said the two buses were carrying people from Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, and Kyrgyzstan who were returning from the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Nurjigit Kadyrbekov, a spokesman for the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry, told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service that efforts are under way to help identify the Kyrgyz victims of the accident and offer help to survivors.

"We are trying to figure out the names of our citizens who died as a result of this accident," he said. "You know, we are doing everything to help our citizens over there."

Some 2.5 million Muslims finished performing the annual hajj pilgrimage earlier this month in Saudi Arabia.

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