Madinah accident: 30 women, children among 42 Indian pilgrims killed

Forty-two Indian pilgrims, including women and children, were killed when a bus collided with a fuel tanker in Saudi Arabia early on Monday, people familiar with the matter said.

The pilgrims, mostly from the Hyderabad region, were travelling from Mecca to Madinah in the bus when the accident occurred at around 1:30am on Monday, the people said on condition of anonymity. They were in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah, or the pilgrimage outside the Haj season.

There was no official word from the Indian side on fatalities. The people cited above confirmed 42 deaths. Gulf News cited its sources as saying that 11 women and 10 children could be among the victims, though Saudi authorities were still verifying numbers.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar expressed shock at the incident and said Indian officials in Saudi Arabia were providing support to the affected Indian nationals and their families.

“Deeply shocked at the accident involving Indian nationals in Medinah, Saudi Arabia. Our Embassy in Riyadh and Consulate in Jeddah are giving fullest support to Indian nationals and families affected by this accident,” he said in a social media post. “Sincere condolences to the bereaved families. Pray for the speedy recovery of those injured.”

The collision between the bus and the fuel tanker triggered a massive fire, media reports said. There were more than 30 women and children in the bus when the accident occurred at Mufrihat, about 160 km from Madinah, the reports said. The pilgrims were on their way to Madinah after completing rituals in Mecca.

“Rescue teams described the scene as devastating, with the bus completely gutted, making victim identification extremely challenging,” Gulf News reported.

AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, the MP for Hyderabad, appealed to the government to ensure the speedy repatriation of the bodies and treatment of the injured.

Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy expressed shock at the incident and directed civilian and police officials to ascertain how many residents of the state were involved in the accident. He also directed them to liaise with the external affairs ministry and the Saudi Arabian embassy in New Delhi.

The Indian consulate in Jeddah said a 24x7 control room has been set up for the relatives of the victims. The numbers for the control room are 8002440003 (toll free), 0122614093, 0126614276, and ‪+966556122301‬ (WhatsApp).

Source: HindustanTimes
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