Tragedy Strikes: 45 Indians Die in Saudi Arabia Bus Crash Ahead of Homecoming
Image Source: Internet
At least 45 Indian Umrah pilgrims from Hyderabad lost their lives in a devastating bus crash in Saudi Arabia. The incident occurred early Monday morning when the bus, carrying 46 passengers, collided with a diesel tanker around 1:30 am IST in Mufrihat, roughly 160 km from Madinah. Miraculously, only one person survived the crash, Hyderabad police commissioner VC Sajjanar confirmed. The group of pilgrims, which included 20 women and 11 children, had left Hyderabad on November 9 for the Umrah pilgrimage. After completing their rituals in Mecca, they were traveling to Madinah when the tragedy struck. Preliminary information suggests that at least 16 of the deceased were from Hyderabad's Bazarghat area in Mallepalli. Hyderabad police commissioner VC Sajjanar provided a clearer picture of the group's travel plan, stating that a total of 54 pilgrims had flown from Hyderabad to Jeddah on November 9. However, not all continued the journey together, with four people traveling separately by car to Madinah on Sunday and another four staying back in Mecca. The remaining 46 people were on the ill-fated bus that crashed into the oil tanker. The sole survivor, Mohammad Abdul Suyaib, is undergoing treatment at the Saudi German Hospital's ICU. The bodies of the deceased have been shifted to a local hospital. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister S Jaishankar expressed shock over the accident, assuring prompt assistance through official channels. The Consulate General of India in Jeddah is working closely with Saudi authorities and the Indian Embassy in Riyadh to coordinate with the concerned families. The incident has sparked a massive response on social media, with Google Trends showing a significant spike in searches for 'bus accident Saudi Arabia' from Telangana, followed by Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Assam.
