Five people were killed and more than 50 others injured in a horrific crash in Kuwait yesterday, involving a bus carrying Bahraini pilgrims.

Four of the dead were Bahrainis - a figure the Foreign Affairs Ministry confirmed late last night despite the accident happening at 8.30am on Abdali Road, north of Kuwait City, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Thick fog blanketing most of the region was blamed for the incident which happened when the bus, carrying pilgrims from Bahrain to Karbala in Iraq, was apparently overtaken by a water tanker, leading it to crash into a truck carrying bricks.

The GDN was able to identify at least two of the deceased as Bahrainis Maitham Abdulla, 29, and Moosa Jaafar Ahmed Al Asfoor, 24.

However, the identities of the other Bahrainis were not revealed.

Abdulla, who was the bus driver, died on impact, while Al Asfoor died in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Al Jahra Hospital.

"The accident resulted in injuries to 50 people, six were critically injured," said the ministry on its Twitter account at 11pm last night.

"Five people died - four at the scene and one at the hospital.

"Four of the deceased are Bahraini citizens, while the fifth person is an Egyptian.

"The work team is following up with the injured and security authorities to uncover the cause of the accident."

Abdulla's brother Mahmood Abdulla, who was driving another bus several meters behind, described the crash to the GDN.

"I saw the water tanker overtaking Maitham's bus which was in front of me and then there was a crash," he said from Kuwait yesterday.

"The bus crashed into a pickup which was also on the road and the tanker was overturned and there were many injured.

"We knew Maitham was dead, but the hospital has not officially given us any documents to take the body as they said investigations were going on."

He said both buses had 45 passengers each and the Bahrainis who were in the second coach continued their pilgrimage.

"Almost all the people in Maitham's bus are injured, but the hospital or police did not tell us anything official," he said.

"We learned that many are critically injured."

He added that the brothers made up to six annual trips to Iraq, but this was the first serious incident.

Abdulla is survived by his wife and three-year-old daughter Howra.

According to Kuwaiti media, more than 30 ambulances were dispatched to the scene, in addition to scores of fire trucks.

Sources from Al Jahra Hospital, where most of the injured were taken, told the GDN only one person, confirmed as Mr Al Asfoor, was admitted to the ICU.

"There was only one person from that accident that was admitted to the ICU here," they said.

"He was in critical condition when he was brought in and died about half an hour after he arrived.

"He died of excessive bleeding, leading to cardiac arrest."

One witness uploaded video footage to the Internet shortly after the accident.

It showed the mangled remains of the vehicles involved in the crash including the front of the bus that was completely destroyed.

It also showed the overturned water tanker and a smashed truck, with white bricks scattered on the road.

People were seen trying to clear the bricks and luggage to get to the injured, while a group of women sitting on the side of the road could be heard wailing.

The video looked like it was shot minutes after the crash as emergency services were still not at the scene.

An audio clip apparently of a taxi driver who witnessed the accident also emerged online.

"The road was covered with fog that even car too close with a hazard light on was not visible," he said in the recording.

A representative of the Bahrain Embassy in Kuwait said the mission was notified about the accident by Kuwaiti journalists, adding that consular officials were dispatched to the scene.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Sadiq Al Shehabi has instructed Salmaniya Medical Complex staff to prepare to receive the injured. The Foreign Ministry is co-ordinating with Riyadh-based Bahrain Embassy to transfer the injured to Bahrain to receive treatment. - TradeArabia News Service