Dozens of Indian Muslims are reported to have been killed as a bus carrying them between pilgrimage sites in Saudi Arabia crashed.

The bus, which was reportedly carrying 46 people, collided with a diesel tanker on a highway as it travelled from the holy city of Mecca to Medina overnight on Monday.

Indian media reports have not confirmed the death toll, but one official reported that up to 45 people – many from the southern Indian state of Telangana, had perished.

Diplomats and politicians expressed their condolences over the “tragic” incident.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media that he was “deeply saddened”, that his “thoughts are with the families who have lost their loved ones”, and that he was praying “for the swift recovery of all those injured”.

The Indian consula

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