Forty-five people were killed in a bus crash near the Saudi city of Madinah early on Monday, when a vehicle carrying Umrah pilgrims from India collided with a diesel tanker.
One of the 46 people on board the bus survived and is receiving treatment in hospital, VC Sajjanar, police commissioner of Hyderabad, told The National. Travel operators said the man, 24, is recovering.
“Abdul Shoeb Mohammed managed to break the window and jumped out of the bus. He is the only passenger to survive,” Shaik Ismail, a travel consultant with Al Makkah tour agency in Hyderabad, told The National. “He had serious injuries to his head, was being treated in the ICU and is improving.”
The Indian government said 45 people died after the bus collided with a diesel tanker.
The bus collided with a diesel tanker while travelling from Makkah to Madinah. AFP
Mr Sajjanar added that eight people from the tour group were safe – four stayed in Makkah and four decided to travel to Madinah by car. “The people who died are from Hyderabad and one is from Karnataka. They were travelling for Umrah and were from a group of 54 who had left Hyderabad on November 9," the added. "We are trying our best to reach out to families and to verify the details of all the passengers.”
Indian media reported that the bus caught fire after the crash.
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