Makkah: Five people, including four Indian nurses and a Saudi national, were killed in a tragic road accident on the Taif–Rania road in Saudi Arabia’s Makkah region on Friday, October 2.
The victims included two nurses from Kerala and two from Tamil Nadu. The four nurses were reportedly travelling back to Taif after spending their day off in Rania, where they had gone for shopping. The accident occurred around 40 km from Rania.
The two Malayali nurses were identified as Jaisy Mol Mathew, a native of Ayarkunnam in Kottayam, and Jubina Johny, from Kurumalloor in Kottayam. The Tamil Nadu victims were identified as Vijayalakshmi Jagadish, from Anna Sathya Nagar, and Hepsiba Devamani, from Pattukkottai in Thanjavur district. The Saudi driver travelling with them also died in the accident.
According to Saudi newspaper Al Madina, the accident took place on the Al-Owaylah–Al-Hajrah road in Rania governorate when the vehicle carrying the nurses collided with another vehicle. The four nurses and the Saudi driver died in the crash, while the driver of the other vehicle survived.
The nurses were working at primary healthcare facilities under the Taif Health Cluster. Their bodies were taken to Rania General Hospital, where they were kept at the mortuary pending completion of the necessary legal procedures.
The accident occurred at around 4.45 pm Saudi time. According to reports from Malayalam media, Jubina had spoken to her parents on the phone around 10 minutes before the accident. Her family was informed of the tragedy shortly afterwards.
Jaisy Mol Mathew had been working in Saudi Arabia for nearly 19 years and was reportedly planning to return to India after completing her current employment. She is survived by her husband and three children. Jubina was also supporting her family financially, while her father runs a stationery business and her mother works as an ASHA worker.
Authorities are completing the required procedures for the repatriation of the bodies to India.