San’a (Sunatimes) At least five people were killed and three others injured in a greasy road accident involving a vehicle transporting illegal Somali immigrants in northern Yemen.

The accident occurred in Hudaydah district north of the country after a vehicle ferrying illegal Somali immigrants bound to Saudi Arabia overturned, killing five people and injuring three others, all Somali immigrants.

Local Yemenis rushed to the scene of the accident and took the injured ones to a hospital in the capital, Sanaa, for treatments.

Some injured immigrants said they were from Southern Somalia and were heading to Saudi Arabia in search of jobs and better life.

Abdikadir Abukar Osman, one of the victims told Bar-kulan that they lost five of their colleagues after the vehicle they were travelling in overturned.

The incident comes a day after Saudi police reportedly forcefully returned over 400 illegal Somali immigrants to Yemen, where they were trying to cross the border into Saudi Arabia.

Police manning the border between the two countries reportedly intercepted the immigrants and later returned them back to Al-Kharaz refugee camp in Yemen.

The immigrants were taking advantage of Muslim Holidays like the recent Eid-al-Adha to cross to the Saudi side of the border but their attempt was thwarted by Saudi police.

Police seized the largest number of illegal Somali immigrants since Somali youths fleeing civil war in the country started making a deadly trip to Saudi Arabia via the Indian Ocean and Yemen in search of better life.

Over 16,000 Somali refugees are believed to be in Al-Kharaz refugee camp after fleeing their country after the fall of Somalia’s central government in 1991.

The refugees were joined by hundreds of others who are trying to cross to Saudi Arabia to look for jobs and better life.

By Hawo Abdulle