A tragic incident near the holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia has left dozens of Indian pilgrims feared dead after a bus collided with a diesel tanker on Monday, according to Indian officials. The bus, carrying 46 passengers, was en route from Mecca to Medina when the collision occurred on a highway, stated Gaurav Uppal, a senior official from Telangana state. Uppal mentioned that approximately 45 individuals from Telangana are believed to have lost their lives in the accident, with one person sustaining injuries.
Following the incident, family members of the victims gathered outside the Fly Zone travel agency in Hyderabad, seeking information about their loved ones. Mohammed Tehseen shared that seven members of his family were on the bus, with all but one tragically perishing. The lone survivor informed the family about the tragedy post-accident.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, and Telangana’s top-elected official, Revanth Reddy, extended their condolences to the grieving families. Jaishankar mentioned in a statement that the Indian Embassy in Riyadh and the consulate in Jeddah were providing assistance to the victims’ relatives. Hyderabad’s police chief, Vishwanath Channappa Sajjanar, reported that preliminary findings indicated at least 18 of the deceased were from the city, with most victims belonging to two families. The injured passenger was identified as Mohammed Shoaib, who survived the tragic incident with injuries.
Sajjanar confirmed that there were 46 individuals on the bus and assured that the police were in contact with the travel agency responsible for organizing the pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. Saudi officials were unavailable for immediate comment on the incident.
