A Telangana government delegation, led by Minorities Minister Mohammed Azharuddin, departed for Madinah on Monday night, November 17. The team's purpose is to coordinate with Saudi authorities and assist the families of Umrah pilgrims from the state who tragically died in a bus accident near the holy city.
Azharuddin is accompanied by Minorities Welfare Secretary B Shafiullah and AIMIM legislator Majid Hussain. The team will oversee formalities in Saudi Arabia and ensure that the deceased are buried in accordance with the families’ wishes and local procedures.
Around 35 relatives — two from each bereaved family — are scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, November 18. Their visa applications were submitted to the Saudi Consulate, and any expired passports were urgently renewed through the Regional Passport Office, Hyderabad.
Before departing, Azharuddin reviewed arrangements with government adviser Mohammed Ali Shabbir and TMREIS president AK Faheem Qureshi. The delegation's work is being carried out on the instructions of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
The Telangana Chief Minister's Office (CMO) confirmed that the last rites will be performed in Saudi Arabia. The state government has announced an ex gratia payment of ₹5 lakh for each affected family.
At least 45 pilgrims, including ten children, were killed in the early hours of Monday when their bus collided with a diesel tanker and burst into flames. Most of the victims were residents of Asif Nagar, Jhirra, Mehdipatnam, and Tolichowki in Hyderabad.
Of the 54 pilgrims who had travelled to Jeddah on November 9, four went to Madinah by car and four stayed back in Makkah. The remaining 46 pilgrims were on the bus that met with the accident. Forty-five died at the scene, while the lone survivor, Abdul Shoeb Mohammed, is in critical condition in a Saudi hospital's Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Also read: 45 Indian pilgrims feared dead in Saudi Arabia bus crash
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