Hyderabad: At least 42 Umrah pilgrims from Hyderabad are feared dead after a passenger bus travelling from Mecca to Medina collided with a diesel tanker in Saudi Arabia early Monday. The crash took place around 1.30 am IST in the Mufrihat region, according to local media reports. Of the 43 passengers on board, only one survivor is undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital.
Sources said the victims were part of a Hyderabad-based pilgrimage group that included several women and children.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy expressed deep shock over the tragedy and instructed Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao and DGP Shivadhar Reddy to immediately gather details of the deceased and verify how many belonged to the state. He also directed officials to work closely with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Saudi Embassy to speed up relief measures. A control room has been set up at the State Secretariat, and Resident Commissioner Gaurav Uppal has been alerted to coordinate further steps.
Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said he had spoken to Abu Mathen George, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Riyadh, who assured him that information was being collected from Saudi authorities. Owaisi also shared passenger details obtained from two Hyderabad-based travel agencies with the Embassy and the Foreign Secretary.
The MP urged the Union Government and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to ensure that the bodies of the deceased are brought back to India without delay and that proper medical care is provided to the lone survivor.
