Abbas thanks Jordan for help to Palestinian bus crash victims

His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday received a telephone call from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who expressed his deep appreciation of Jordan and its security bodies for their help to Palestinian pilgrims whose bus crashed yesterday. Seventeen people from the West Bank were killed and 38 injured when the Jordanian bus driver lost control and the bus crashed into two vehicles on the Dead Sea road. The driver was among the dead. The victims, who were returning from a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, were offered help by accident response crews and evacuated to hospitals. King Abdullah had ordered authorities to offer necessary medical care to the injured passengers who were visited in hospital by senior officials. In a message to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, King Abdullah expressed his profound pride in "the distinguished" efforts by Health Ministry, Civil Defence and Public Security Department PSD personnel in dealing with the horrendous accident. He asked the prime minister to convey his pride in their humane efforts. A number of injured pilgrims remained in hospital. PSD crews today transferred the bodies of the victims from Al Basheer Government Hospital in Amman to the King Hussein Bridge where Palestinian officials were on hand to welcome the coffins. During the phone conversation, Abbas said the King's directives were the best solace to the victims.