Saudi Arabia bus-tanker collision: Last rites of late Hyderabad Umrah pilgrims held in Madinah

Hyderabad: The last rites for Hyderabad Umrah pilgrims who lost their lives in the recent bus accident near Madinah were held on Saturday at Jannatul Baqi, following the Salat al-Janazah the Islamic funeral prayer at the Prophet’s Mosque.

Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Justice S Abdul Nazeer, attended the funeral prayers and the burial ceremony at the sacred cemetery of Jannatul Baqi in Madinah. He was joined by the Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Dr. Suhel Khan, Consul General Fahad Suri, and other relatives and well-wishers, said Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia in a social media post . The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia extended its deepest condolences to the victims and their families, expressing solidarity in the wake of this tragic incident.

The accident occurred on Monday, November 17, when a bus carrying Umrah pilgrims from Makkah to Madinah collided with an oil tanker and caught fire at approximately 1:30 am Saudi time. At least 45 pilgrims, most of them residents of Asif Nagar, Jhirra, Mehdipatnam, and Tolichowki in Hyderabad, lost their lives.

A Telangana government delegation led by Minorities Welfare Minister Mohammed Azharuddin and Minorities Welfare Secretary B. Shafiullah traveled to Saudi Arabia to assist the victims’ families in conducting the last rites. The government arranged travel for family members to ensure their presence at the funerals.

The funeral prayers were held after Dhuhr and led by Shaykh Abdul Bari al-Thubaiti. Jannatul Baqi, the serene and revered cemetery adjacent to the Prophet’s Mosque, is one of the holiest burial sites in Islam where the victims of the bus mishap were laid to rest.