RAMALLAH, March 17, 2016 (WAFA) – At least 16 Palestinian pilgrims were killed and 36 others injured when their bus overturned in southern Jordan near Saudi Arabia’s borders, said the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The Ministry’s Director of the Ambulance and Emergency Department Bassem al-Rimawi said at least 16 Palestinian pilgrims were killed and 33 others injured when the bus driver lost control of the vehicle near al-Mudawara border crossing, located about 322 kilometers away from Amman.

Al-Rimawi, who led a medical team to Amman to closely supervise the investigation, said eight seriously-injured pilgrims were rushed into the Amman-based al-Madina al-Tibbiyya and al-Aqaba-based Price Hashem Hospital, while the rest sustained moderate injuries and were rushed into Ma‘an’s Public Hospital and Queen Rania’s Hospital.

He explained that the fatalities would be identified in a joint official statement to be issued in coordination with the Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs, noting that their bodies were taken into al-Bashir Hospital in the Jordanian capital.

Al-Rimawi commended Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, Director-General of Civil Defence Mou‘in al-Habashneh and medical personnel for their efforts in terms of providing all required medical treatment for the pilgrims.

Meanwhile, Minister of Waqf and Religious Affairs Youssef Ideiss, who also headed a ministerial team to Jordan to follow up on the case, warned that the death toll could rise further given the severity of the cases.

WAFA quoted officials of the Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs as saying all of the dead and injured pilgrims are residents of the West Bank districts of Hebron, Jenin and Tulkarem.

The group had been heading to Saudi Arabia for the Umrah, a Muslim religious pilgrimage to Mecca that can be performed at any time of the year, unlike the Hajj, which follows the fasting month of Ramadan.

K.F/M.H