What was meant to be a homecoming turned into a devastating tragedy on the Al-Arqoub Road in Yemen’s Abyan Governorate, when a passenger bus carrying dozens of Yemenis returning from Saudi Arabia burst into flames, killing 30 people and injuring several others — in one of the deadliest road accidents the country has witnessed in recent years.
The bus, operated by Saqr Al-Hijaz Transport Company, had departed from Jeddah, heading toward Yemen. In the early hours of the morning, it collided with a small vehicle and within moments became a blazing inferno, leaving behind only charred wreckage and broken families who were waiting at home to welcome their loved ones.
According to port authorities at Al-Wadi‘ah Land Crossing, the bus was carrying 42 passengers. Only five people survived, all of whom were transferred in critical condition to Al-Jumhuriya Hospital in Aden. Among the dead was the driver, Shuaib Al-Hijazi. Seven passengers had disembarked earlier in Shabwah Governorate, which prevented the death toll from rising even higher.
One survivor recounted seeing passengers desperately trying to smash the windows as flames engulfed the bus, but said, “the fire was faster than any chance of escape.”
The tragedy has once again shed light on the deadly conditions of Yemen’s long-distance roads, where worn-out infrastructure, poor vehicle maintenance, and the lack of safety oversight have turned travel into a daily risk. Activists on social media expressed shock and outrage, saying that “lives are lost over and over without real accountability or reform” in Yemen’s fragile transport sector.
In response, the Land Transport Regulatory Authority stated that the bus was licensed and had passed all safety inspections, noting it was a 2023 model. The authority said it is closely following the ongoing investigation to determine the exact cause of the crash and urged drivers to adhere to traffic rules and exercise extreme caution.
Meanwhile, the families of the victims await the arrival of their loved ones’ remains in silence — a somber reminder of the unending toll of Yemen’s “roads of death,” and a haunting question that continues to echo: When will the journey home stop ending in tragedy?
