18 killed in pilgrim bus crash

Thirteen people were killed and 18 injured in a road accident near the Yemen-Saudi border today, Yemeni police sources said.

The driver of a lorry carrying wood lost control on a two-lane highway and crashed into an oncoming bus carrying 44 pilgrims near the town of Haram, more than 186 miles northwest of the capital, San‘a.

The pilgrims were on their way to Saudi Arabia for a minor pilgrimage, or umrah. The lorry driver was among the 18 injured, who were taken to a hospital in the area.

With road accidents on the increase in Yemen, the authorities have reported 84 deaths in the last two weeks.