2 Malaysians killed, Indonesians injured

2 Malaysians killed, Indonesians injured

SAUDI ARABIA: Two Malaysian pilgrims were killed and 10 were slightly injured in a road accident on their way to Mecca to perform the minor pilgrimage, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The two, a man and a woman, were killed instantly when a small Saudi truck hit their minibus from behind on the road from the Red Sea resort of Jeddah to Islam's holiest city, Al-Riyadh said. Two Indonesians also sustained slight injuries, the paper said.

Millions of Muslim faithful travel to Mecca each year during the two traditional pilgrimage seasons. The major one is known as the haj and the minor one as umrah.

Saudi Arabia has one of the world's highest rates of traffic accidents, according to the transport ministry.

Official reports record more than 35,000 road deaths over the past 10 years. --AFP