LONDON: A Saudi national and his four-year-old child were killed on Wednesday after a train collided into their car in western Austria, the Okaz newspaper reported on Friday.
The family’s vehicle got stuck on the rail tracks while attempting to cross, and the husband managed to get his wife and two children out of the car. But when he returned to retrieve the four-year-old from the child seat the train collided with the vehicle, killing them both.
Details of the accident were revealed by a relative of the deceased, Mohammed Al-Sharif, via his Twitter account.
The 35-year-old citizen was on vacation with his family, and the accident occurred at the so-called “Eiger Crossing” in the city of St. Johann in Tyrol, Okaz said, citing media reports.
The train was heading from Kitzbuhel to St. Johann, and was unable to stop in time, it added.
Austrian police announced the death of the child on Thursday, while the father was taken to a hospital in St. Johann, but attempts to rescue him were unsuccessful due to the seriousness of his injuries.
The 34-year-old mother and the two other children, 7 and 11-years-old, survived the accident unharmed.
Saudi father and child killed after saving his family in train collision in Austria
https://arab.news/p66hv
Saudi father and child killed after saving his family in train collision in Austria
- The family’s vehicle got stuck on the rail tracks while attempting to cross
- The 34-year-old mother and two other children, 7 and 11-years-old, survived the accident unharmed
‘Cake not hate’ campaign becomes ‘Dates not hate’ in Madinah
- Dan said he was very impressed by Saudi hospitality and that his family was warmly welcomed
- He said being in Madinah exposed him to the true diversity of Islam
LONDON: A British autistic and non-verbal boy who has been visiting UK mosques and distributing cakes to promote solidarity amid an increase in far-right support in the country has taken his message of love to Madinah.
Joshua Harris, or “The Joshie-Man” as the 12-year-old is known to his social media fans, has handed out hundreds of his baked goods to worshipers at mosques in major British cities over the last few months.
The “Cake not hate” campaign came about after an Islamophobic attack on a mosque in his home city of Peterborough in October 2025.
Harris and his father visited Masjid Darassalaam, the mosque that was targeted, with cakes that the boy had baked and distributed them to the congregation soon after the attack. Since then, Harris has visited dozens of mosques in the UK.
On a recent trip to the Middle East, he and his father visited Madinah. In a local twist that pays tribute to the holy city’s famous date varieties including ajwa and ambar, Harris handed out dates to people in the courtyard of the Prophet’s Mosque. The “Cake not hate” campaign became “Dates not hate” for Saudi Arabia.
“He was greeted really, really warmly. There were some really touching moments where people were kissing his hands and his head. It was really lovely,” his father, Dan Harris, said.
Dan, the founder of global charity Neurodiversity in Business, said being in Madinah exposed him to the true diversity of Islam.
“We met people from all around the world. It was amazing. It’s like the United Nations there, you get people from different countries and it just goes to show you that the Muslim community, or the Ummah more generally, is not a homogeneous group,” he said.
“We saw people from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and it was really interesting for us.”
Dan said his visit to Madinah, considered the second holiest city in Islam after Makkah for Muslims, was “profound and life-changing.”
He added: “I would say it’s my favourite city in the world due to the peace and tranquillity I felt there.”
Dan added that he was very impressed by Saudi hospitality: “Everywhere we went, people were taking down my number and insisting that we come for dinner, insisting they pick us up from the location. They were extremely attentive to Joshie as well, making sure his needs were met. We felt a great sense of welcome, something Saudi Arabia is known for.”
