Saudi Arabia: 35 Asian, Arab Pilgrims Killed Near Mecca In Massive Traffic Accident

Thirty-five people were killed and four injured after their bus collided with an excavator in Saudi Arabia's Medina province. Authorities in Saudi Arabia said that 35 pilgrims have been killed in a bus crash near the Muslim holy city of Mecca. The SPA news agency quoting the province's police spokesman reported that the traffic accident took place on Wednesday in Medina's Al Akhal Centre. The spokesman added that the passengers included people of Asian and Arabic nationalities. The injured were taken to Al Hamna Hospital. The agency, quoting police in Saudi Arabia's Medina province, said the crash happened around 7 pm Wednesday on the road linking Mecca to the city of Medina.

The accident involved a collision between "a private chartered bus... with a heavy vehicle (loader), in Al-Akhal Center in Madinah area, resulting in the death of (35) and the injury of (4) of its passengers," a spokesman for Madinah police said, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.

Police are investigating the incident but authorities gave no immediate cause for the crash.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish over the death of 35 people in a bus accident in Saudi Arabia.

"Anguished by the news of a bus crash near Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Condolences to the families of those who lost their lives. Praying for a quick recovery of the injured," the prime minister tweeted.