45 D£ad as Bus Carrying Umrah Pilgrims Catches F!re Near Holy City in Saudi

45 Dead as Bus Carrying Umrah Pilgrims Catches Fire Near Holy City in Saudi

A collision involving a bus carrying Indian Umrah pilgrims and a fuel tanker near Madinah Al Munawarrah has resulted in one of the deadliest road accidents recorded on that route in recent years.

More than forty passengers died after the crash triggered a fire that engulfed the vehicle as it travelled from Mecca toward Madinah on Sunday, November 16.

Emergency responders recovered the bodies and moved the injured to nearby hospitals for urgent treatment.

According to NDTV, Indian authorities confirmed that most of the victims were from Telangana. The Hyderabad Police Commissioner, VC Sajjanar, said preliminary reports from Saudi Arabia indicated that 45 people died and only one survivor was receiving treatment.

He explained that fifty-four pilgrims left Hyderabad for Jeddah on November 9, with the group scheduled to return to India on November 23. According to him, forty-six of them were inside the bus at the time of the crash