Thirty-five foreigners were killed and four others injured when a bus collided with another heavy vehicle near the Madina, Saudi state media said on Thursday. The accident on Wednesday evening involved the collision of "a private chartered bus... with a heavy vehicle" near the western city, a spokesman for Madina police said, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
Those involved were Arab and Asian pilgrims travelling from Madina to Makkah, according to local media, which carried pictures of the bus engulfed in flames and with its windows blown out.
The injured have been transferred to Al-Hamna Hospital, SPA added. Authorities have launched an investigation.
The Okaz newspaper said that the victims were expatriates who lived in the kingdom and who were performing the Umrah.
Prince Faisal bin Salman, the governor of Madina region, expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, SPA said.
Pakistan said four people survived the bus crash, including one of its nationals, while several other Pakistani citizens were killed.
"It has been reported that 35 passengers out of total 39 lost their lives," the foreign ministry in Islamabad said in a statement.
"Initial reports indicate that the deceased also include a certain number of Pakistani nationals. Of the four (4) survivors, there is one Pakistani named Akbar, who is seriously injured," it added.
The nationalities of the other victims was not immediately known but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also sent his condolences.
"Anguished by the news of a bus crash near Makkah. Condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. Praying for a quick recovery of the injured," he tweeted.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019
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