Undated photo of 24-year-old Mohd Abdul Shoiab, the lone survivor of the bus accident in Saudi Arabia's Madina.
Credit: PTI Photo
Hyderabad: The sole survivor of the tragic accident in Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Abdul Shoaib, is now undergoing treatment in the ICU of a Saudi hospital, said Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar. Most of the victims were from Asif Nagar, Jhirra, Mehdipatnam, Vidyanagar, and Toli Chowki areas of the city. It is learnt that Shoaib has received severe burn injuries.
The 24-year-old resident of Asif Nagar emerged as the lone survivor of the bus accident. Reportedly seated close to the driver, Shoaib survived with severe injuries as the collision impact triggered a massive fire.
The Umrah pilgrims from Hyderabad traveled to Saudi Arabia through two local tour operators- Al Meena Tours and Travels of Mallepally, and Flyzone Tours and Travels of Mehdipatnam. The pilgrims, who had left Hyderabad on Saturday, November 9, had completed their Umrah rituals in Makkah and were traveling for Ziyarath to Madinah when their bus collided with an oil tanker at around 1:30 am Saudi time (4 am Indian time) near Muhras/Mufrihat, nearly 160 km from the holy city.
"My two brothers-in-law and mother-in-law were killed in the bus mishap. We have received confirmation from the travel company. We hope the Telangana government will help us with the further procedures," said one of the family members of the victims.
The Hyderabad pilgrims had paid between Rs 96,000 and Rs 1.10 lakh per person for the Umrah pilgrimage.
"I just spoke to the Union Minister of External Affairs, Dr. S. Jaishankar. He informed me that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had instructed him to dispatch a special team from India to speed up coordination efforts in Saudi Arabia. I also spoke to the Indian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Suhel Ajaz Khan. The Ambassador confirmed that 45 of the 46 pilgrims died when their bus traveling from Makkah to Madinah collided with an oil tanker. It is also a matter of deep grief that the deceased pilgrims hail from the state of Telangana, and a majority of them are from my parliamentary constituency of Secunderabad," Union Coal Minister G. Kishan Reddy said
He added that the one person who survived the horrific accident is undergoing medical treatment, and a team of medical experts has been deployed by the Saudi government to provide the required medical assistance. The Saudi government has also started the process of identifying the bodies and is working on issuing death certificates. Parallelly, a high-level inquiry has been initiated into the accident.
The Indian embassy is in touch with the Telangana government and the families, and the next-of-kin are being informed about the accident. The Government of India will abide by the choice made by the family members on the issue of returning the mortal remains of the deceased.
"The Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, is in continuous communication with all stakeholders and is closely coordinating with the Government of Saudi Arabia, the Telangana government, and the family members through the state government to ensure that the bodies can be identified quickly and to facilitate the last rites being performed by the families," added Kishan Reddy.