Madinah: At least 42 Indian Umrah pilgrims, including women and children were killed after their bus collided with a diesel tanker near Madinah in Saudi Arabia in the early hours of Monday.
The bus was carrying pilgrims from Mecca to Madinah when the accident occurred at a location identified as Mufrihat, officials said.
All of those who died were from Hyderabad, it has been reported. Rescuers have said that there were 20 women and 11 children in the bus when the accident occurred.
The pilgrims had reportedly completed their rituals in Mecca and were on their way to Madinah.
Most passengers were asleep when the collision took place around 1.30 am (IST). The bus was engulfed in flames immediately, giving little opportunity to the occupants to escape, officials said. The blaze could be seen from a distance.
While 42 deaths have been announced, officials are still verifying the exact number of casualties and the condition of survivors. Emergency services are carrying out recovery operations, and further details are awaited.
The Indian Embassy is coordinating with Saudi officials to identify the dead and inform their families.
In 2015, several Indian pilgrims were killed in a major stampede that occurred in Mina near Mecca during the pilgrim. Over 2,000 pilgrims from several parts of the world were killed in that disaster.
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