A tragic road accident near the holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia has killed around 45 Indian pilgrims, most of them from Telangana, after their bus collided with a diesel tanker late Monday, Indian officials confirmed.
The vehicle, carrying 46 passengers, was travelling from Mecca to Medina when the crash occurred. According to Gaurav Uppal, a senior Telangana official coordinating with Indian authorities in Saudi Arabia, only one passenger survived, sustaining injuries.
Shocked relatives gathered at the Fly Zone travel agency office in Hyderabad, seeking information about their loved ones. Many of the victims reportedly belonged to just two extended families. The lone surviving passenger has been identified as Mohammed Shoaib.
Indian leaders — including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy — offered condolences, with Jaishankar confirming that the Indian Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate in Jeddah are providing assistance to families.
One relative, Mohammed Tehseen, said seven members of his family were on the bus, and only one survived long enough to call and report the tragedy.
Saudi authorities have not yet issued an official statement on the incident.
Hyderabad’s police chief, Vishwanath Channappa Sajjanar, said preliminary reports indicate that at least 18 of the deceased were from Hyderabad alone, and that police are coordinating with the travel agency involved.
