Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], November 17 : Telangana Government has announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the 45 people killed in a bus accident in Saudi Arabia.
According to the Telangana CMO, the state cabinet announced to provide ex-gratia to the bereaved families in a meeting held at the secretariat on Monday.
The state government has also decided to deploy a government team, led by State Minority Welfare Minister Mohd Azharuddin, to Saudi Arabia. One of the AIMIM MLAs and a senior official from the Minority community will also be part of the team. Two of the family members of every victim will also be taken to Saudi Arabia.
The last rites of the mortal remains of the deceased will be performed in Saudi country, according to Telangana CMO.
At least 45 Indian Umrah pilgrims from Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana died, and only one survived in a devastating bus fire near Medina in Saudi Arabia, according to the Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar.
Addressing the media, Sajjanar said the group was travelling from Makkah to Madinah when their bus collided with an oil tanker nearly 25 km before Medina, causing an explosion that engulfed the vehicle within minutes.
"The fire spread rapidly, leaving no time for most passengers to escape," he said.
According to details shared by the Commissioner, a total of 54 pilgrims from Hyderabad left for Jeddah on November 9 as part of an Umrah tour scheduled from November 9 to 23. Of them, four individuals proceeded to Madinah separately by car, while another four remained in Makkah due to personal reasons. The remaining 46 pilgrims boarded the bus involved in the fatal crash.
Out of the 46 passengers, 45 died at the scene after the bus was completely burnt. Only one individual, Md Abdul Shoaib, survived the fire. He has been admitted to a Saudi hospital ICU and is in critical condition.