Abyan (South24 Center)

Twelve people, including a child and a woman, were killed on Tuesday morning (February 24) when a passenger bus collided with a heavy-duty truck and caught fire in the Al-Mahfad district of Abyan Governorate on the international highway, according to local sources.

The sources said the accident occurred around 9:00 a.m. in the Al-Maajala area of Al-Habaj village when the bus, carrying pilgrims en route to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, collided with a truck. The impact triggered a massive fire that engulfed both vehicles, trapping the passengers inside.

Sources added that most of the bus passengers are from Taiz Governorate in North Yemen, noting that Loder Hospital received 11 charred bodies, while only one passenger survived the bus.

#BREAKING

Abyan Security: 11 people died in a collision between a bus and a truck carrying copies of the Quran in the Al-Haraj area of Al-Mahfad #south24 pic.twitter.com/oUqMLJxuCR

— South24 | English (@South24E) February 24, 2026

According to the reports, rescuers faced immense difficulties in extinguishing the fire due to the absence of civil defense equipment, forcing citizens and soldiers to fetch water using primitive means to help put out the flames. The process of transporting the bodies took several hours amid the deterioration of medical services in remote areas.

Sources clarified that Loder police have detained the truck driver to complete legal procedures, while the international highway remained closed for hours due to the accident's wreckage.

The incident follows a series of similar accidents on international roads in Yemen, the most recent occurred last November in Abyan Governorate, where a mass transit bus collision resulted in 18 deaths. Another accident in October on the international route between Hadramout and Marib left 14 people dead.

The deterioration of infrastructure and the lack of routine road maintenance are considered the main factors contributing to the recurring traffic accidents that claim hundreds of lives annually, amid public demands to improve roads and enhance ambulance and civil defense services.