The bus accident that claimed the lives of 45 pilgrims in Saudi Arabia spared one person, a 24-year-old man who is undergoing treatment at the hospital. The accident happened near Madinah after the bus carrying pilgrims rammed into a diesel truck around 1:30 am IST.
The sole survivor, Mohammed Abdul Shoiab, is from Hyderabad. He was seated near the driver when the collision happened. He is receiving treatment in the hospital, Hyderabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar told reporters.
Though there was initial confusion about the number of deaths, the Telangana Hajj Committee has confirmed the deaths to be 45. The deceased are said to be from Malleppalli, Bazaarghat, and Asif Nagar
The pilgrims went to the Kingdom via four agencies for pilgrims. After the visit to Mecca, they travelled to Medinah, when the accident happened at Mufrihat, which is 25 kilometres from Mecca. In fact, the team had over 54 people. While 45 took the bus to Medinah, four of them left for Medinah on Sunday. The other four opted to remain in Mecca.
The bus rammed into the diesel truck and, in the impact, caught fire. The death toll is said to be high as all of them were asleep at the time of the accident.
Eight of the deceased were from the same family. “As per the instructions of the government and Revanth Reddy, we are in touch with the authorities there. There are 18 people from one family in Ramnagar, and 16 members of another family living in Old City are involved in this. We will share the remaining information once it is available," Telangana Waqf Board Chairman, Syed Azmathullah Hussaini told reporters.
Meanwhile, the local MLA, Majeed Hassan, said that the affected families are yet to get clarity about what happened.