Dozens of Indian Muslims are reported to have been killed as a bus carrying them between pilgrimage sites in Saudi Arabia crashed.
The bus, which was reportedly carrying 46 people, collided with a diesel tanker on a highway as it travelled from the holy city of Mecca to Medina overnight on Monday.
Indian media reports have not confirmed the death toll, but one official reported that up to 45 people – many from the southern Indian state of Telangana, had perished.
Diplomats and politicians expressed their condolences over the “tragic” incident.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media that he was “deeply saddened”, that his “thoughts are with the families who have lost their loved ones”, and that he was praying “for the swift recovery of all those injured”.
The Indian consulate in Jeddah said a control room has been set up to provide helplines.
Vishwanath Channappa Sajjanar, police chief of Hyderabad, capital of Telangana, told a news conference: “There were 46 people in the bus and one passenger survived with injuries.”
Most of the victims were from two families, he added. The injured passenger was named as Mohammed Shoaib.
The police are in contact with the travel agency through which the pilgrims had travelled to Saudi Arabia, Sajjanar continued.
Dangerous road
Transporting worshippers around Saudi Arabia’s holy sites has frequently proven dangerous, particularly during the Hajj, when roads can be chaotic with buses creating interminable traffic jams.
Millions also visit Saudi Arabia for the Umrah pilgrimage, which happens at any time outside the Hajj period.
In March 2023, a bus carrying pilgrims to Mecca burst into flames after a collision on a bridge, killing 20 people and injuring more than two dozen.
In October 2019, 35 were killed and four injured when a bus collided with another heavy vehicle near Medina.
Pilgrimages are an essential component of Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning tourism sector that officials hope will help diversify the kingdom’s economy away from fossil fuels.
The Gulf kingdom is also home to more than two million Indian nationals who have long played a pivotal role in its labour market, helping construct many of the country’s mega-projects while sending billions of dollars in remittances back home each year.
Saudi Arabia and India have fostered a close relationship for decades.
India’s rapidly developing economy relies heavily on petroleum imports, with Saudi Arabia ranked as its third-largest supplier, according to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
