'Awqaf Ministry to sue individual responsible for false report of Jordanian pilgrim deaths'

AMMAN — Awqaf Ministry Secretary General Abdul Munem Hiyari on Tuesday said the ministry plans to seek the prosecution of an individuals who was involved in spreading rumours on social media that 19 Jordanian pilgrims were killed in a road accident in Saudi Arabia.

"We have a good idea of the person who spread this false information and we plan to legally prosecute this individual," Hiyari told The Jordan Times.

Jordanians woke up Tuesday morning to read "the supposed bad news" on various media outlets, news websites and social media pages that 19 Jordanian pilgrims were killed when their bus overturned in Saudi territories at around 4am.

The news prompted the Jordanian ambassador and the Jordanian embassy in Saudi Arabia to contact Saudi officials, hospitals and rescue teams to verify the story, media outlets reported.

The Foreign Ministry issued a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, saying that it did not receive any confirmation from the Saudi authorities that any Jordanian pilgrim was killed in traffic accidents inside Saudi Arabia.

The Awqaf Ministry official urged media outlets and individuals not to circulate such stories without an official verification or statement.

"The rumours caused a lot of distress and panic among the families of the pilgrims," the ministry said in a statement.