Azhar-led official team for Saudi

Hyderabad: An official team led by State Minority Welfare Minister Mohd Azharuddin will leave for Saudi Arabia to assist in the performance of the last rites of the mortal remains of the persons who died in the bus accident in the Arab country.

The official team will be accompanied by two family members of each of the deceased victims. An immediate assistance of Rs 5 lakh would be provided ex gratia to the kin of each bereaved family.

The State Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, paid homage and observed one-minute silence in memory of the Umrah pilgrims who lost their lives in the bus accident.

The Chief Minister instructed the Minority Welfare Minister to visit the accident spot and coordinate with the Saudi officials. One of the senior officials from Muslim community will also accompany the official team.

A control room has also been set up at Telangana Bhavan in New Delhi. Senior officials at Telangana Bhavan are in direct contact with the Indian Embassy in Riyadh seeking full details of the accident. “Deeply saddened by the accident in Medina involving Indian nationals. My thoughts are with the families who have lost their loved ones,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X.

“I pray for the swift recovery of all those injured,” he said. The Prime Minister said the Indian embassy in Riyadh and the Consulate in Jeddah are providing all possible assistance and officials are in close contact with Saudi Arabian authorities. Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju said he was “shocked and deeply saddened” by the tragic bus accident on the Medina-Mecca highway in Saudi Arabia that claimed the lives of Indian pilgrims.

State Governor Jishnu Dev Varma expressed his profound sorrow over the bus accident near Medinah.