The bus, carrying Umrah pilgrims who had completed their rituals in Makkah, was travelling toward Madinah when it crashed into a diesel tanker near the Mufrehat area. Most of the passengers were residents of Hyderabad in the Indian state of Telangana.
According to Gulf News, many of the passengers were asleep at the time of the accident. When the bus hit the tanker and caught fire, they had little chance to escape. Initial reports indicate that among the deceased are 11 women and 10 children.
Authorities are still verifying the final number of casualties. However, rescue workers said the bus was completely burned, making the identification of bodies extremely difficult.
The Telangana government is in touch with the Indian Embassy in Riyadh. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has instructed officials in Delhi to coordinate closely with the embassy regarding the incident.
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