1 Congratulated Bus Accident In Saudi Arabia Still Being Treated, India Helps Return 45 Dead Victims

Illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Tony Webster)

JAKARTA - A total of 45 worshipers from India died after the bus they were traveling in caught fire in an accident near the city of Medina, Saudi Arabia. This information was conveyed by the Commissioner of the Hyderabad Police, VC Sajjanar, at a press conference.

Sajjanar said the bus was carrying 46 passengers. One survivor is now being treated intensively at a local hospital.

Reporting from the BBC, Monday, November 17, the majority of the victims were citizens of Hyderabad, Telangana State, southern India.

The congregation is known to be on their way from the Holy City of Mecca to Medina after performing the Umrah pilgrimage.

The Telangana government stated that the victims departed from Hyderabad to Jeddah on November 9.

Of the 54 people who departed, four people chose to stay in Mecca, the other four to Medina by car, while 46 people took the bus that had an accident.

Sajjanar said the accident allegedly involved an oil tanker truck, but did not elaborate further on the chronology of the collision.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences through his official account on X. He said the Indian government continues to coordinate closely with the Saudi Arabian authorities.

"Our Embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate in Jeddah provided all the needed assistance," Modi wrote.

The Indian government has also opened control centers in Jeddah and Hyderabad to help families of victims, including the process of repatriating bodies. Hyderabad lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi asked India's central government to speed up the process.

In Hyderabad, the families of the victims admitted that they were devastated. One of the victim's relatives, Mohammed Tehseen, said seven members of his family were on the bus.

He learned of the accident after receiving a call from his relative, Shoaib, who survived and is currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.