Bus Crash Kills 45 Indian Pilgrims Near Madina

A bus carrying Indian Umrah pilgrims collided with an oil tanker near the holy city of Madina in Saudi Arabia early Monday, killing 45 people and leaving one survivor in critical condition. The accident occurred around 1:30 a.m. local time on the road from Mecca to Madina, about 25 kilometers before reaching the city, when the bus burst into flames after the impact.

The victims were part of a group of 54 pilgrims from Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana who had departed India on November 9 for a 14-day Umrah tour, a non-obligatory Islamic pilgrimage. Of those, 46 boarded the bus for the journey to Madina, while four traveled separately by car and four remained in Mecca. Preliminary reports indicate 28 women and 17 men perished, with many bodies charred beyond recognition, complicating identification efforts. The sole survivor, 24-year-old Mohd Abdul Shoiab from Hyderabad, was seated next to the driver and escaped by breaking open a window before the fire engulfed the vehicle. He lost his parents in the crash and is receiving treatment in a Madina hospital, where officials described him as alert but traumatized.

The tragedy wiped out entire families, underscoring its...