Mohammed Abdul Shoaib (right), the lone survivor of the bus accident in Madina, Saudi Arabia, talking to his family members, in Hyderabad, on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The survivor of the Medina bus crash, Mohammed Abdul Shoaib, landed in Hyderabad around 9.10 a.m. on Tuesday aboard an Indigo flight.
The road accident, which involved a bus and an oil tanker, claimed the lives of 45 Umrah pilgrims, leaving the families of victims devastated, and the city in a state of shock.
Mr. Shoaib travelled from King Abdul Aziz International Airport with his brother, accompanied by Telangana State Haj Committee (TGHC) official Mohammed Ali Masood. A visibly emotional Mr Shoaib arrived at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, where members of his extended family gathered to receive him. He spoke little at the airport, and left for his home in Jhirra.
He later spoke to the media at his residence where he recounted how the tragedy unfolded in a matter of just “five minutes”.
He said the bus was en route to Medina when one of the passengers requested to use the washroom located at the back of the vehicle. The driver parked the bus by the roadside and within minutes a tanker rear-ended it. The bus caught fire soon after the impact. The driver managed to break the glass and escape, and Mr Shoaib followed.
“My clothes caught fire, and I quickly removed them. I then went to the police – who were there, and they asked me some questions, took my fingerprints, and sent me to the hospital,” he said.
Mr Shoaib expressed gratitude to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Minister for Minorities Welfare Mohammed Azharuddin, Nampally legislator Mohammed Majid Hussain, and Minorities Welfare Secretary B. Shafiullah.
He also thanked Hyderabad parliamentarian Asaduddin Owaisi and TGHC Chairman Syed Ghulam Afzal Biyabani.
Speaking to The Hindu, TGHC Chairman Mr Biyabani said, “Shoaib arrived in Hyderabad on the 9.10 am Indigo flight. TGHC staff were with him throughout at the hospital and coordinated the process of obtaining death certificates. The Telangana government took care of the travel and stay expenses of family members who went to Saudi Arabia to complete the funeral prayers and burial in Jannat-ul-Baqi. Our staff also coordinated discharge summaries and delivered them to the Indian Embassy.”
Published – December 02, 2025 09:03 pm IST
