35 pilgrims die in Madina bus crash

RIYADH: As many as 35 foreigners were killed and four others injured when a bus collided with another heavy vehicle near Madina, Saudi state media said on Thursday. The accident on Wednesday evening involved a collision between "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. The nationalities of the victims were not known but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also sent his condolences. "Anguished by the news of a bus crash near Madina in Saudi Arabia. Condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. Praying for a quick recovery of the injured," he tweeted.