2012 Riyadh truck crash

The 2012 Riyadh truck crash occurred on 1 November 2012, when a truck carrying fuel crashed into an intersection flyover in the east of Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia.[1] The lorry hit a bridge pylon on Khureis Road and the petrol it was carrying leaked into the surroundings, and then ignited. Al Ekhbariya television reported that the blast killed 23 people outright and injured 111, with the death toll expected to rise even higher; although the Saudi health ministry reported the injury total was closer to 135.[2] An Agence France-Presse photographer on the scene described widespread damage, with charred bodies and machinery being hauled from the wreckage. Due to the force of the blast, another truck fell off of the flyover. Amateur video showed black smoke billowing into the sky, visible throughout the city.[2]

2012 Riyadh truck crash
Date1 November 2012
Time7:20 am
LocationKhureis Road, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Deaths26 dead
Non-fatal injuries135 injured

The scene of the crash was within close vicinity of Prince Nayef Arab University for Security Studies, as well as the headquarters of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, thus instigating the speculation of terrorist collusion or perpetration. However, a police spokesman stated that this was inexorably not the case, explaining "the truck driver was surprised by a road accident on its route, causing it to crash into one of the pillars of the bridge".[3] The police also posited that due to it being the Eid al-Adha holiday, the casualty total was significantly less than it would have been during a normal day, because of vastly reduced traffic. The Riyadh Police also warned against congregating near the scene of the crash, as roughly 10,000 people took to doing just an hour after the accident occurred.[4]

On 2 November, the Saudi health ministry stated that the death toll was confirmed to have risen to 26 through the night, including both Saudis, Filipinos (the lorry driver's nationality), and victims of other nationalities.[5][6] The crash is expected to cost upwards of 300 million riyals.[7] According to Saudi Minister of Health Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabiah, 90 of the injured have been released from the hospital, but 43 are still under intensive medical care.[7] The driver was arrested, but the charges against him are unknown.[7]

References
  1. "Saudi Arabia fuel truck crash kills 22 in Riyadh". BBC. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  2. "Death toll in Saudi fuel truck blast rises to 22, state TV reports". Ahram Online. Reuters. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  3. "At least 23 killed in Riyadh fuel truck blast". Reuters. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  4. "Death toll of Saudi truck jumps to 22". Kuwait News Agency. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  5. "Riyadh blast toll rises to 26". IOL News. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  6. "Filipino truck driver among those killed in Saudi blast; 10 other Filipinos injured". The Washington Post. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  7. Khan, Ghazanfar (4 November 2012). "Riyadh blast damage put at over SR 300 m". Arab News. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
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