A heartbreaking photograph showing 18 members of a Hyderabad-based family, captured together at the airport in Saudi Arabia, has become a devastating reminder of the tragedy that struck near Medina, where all of them died in a horrific bus accident. The victims, spanning three generations and including nine children, were among the 42 Indian pilgrims killed when their bus collided with a diesel tanker late Monday night.
AIMIM MLA Waris Pathan shared the picture on social media with the caption, “The last journey!! Heartbreaking… Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajeun.” The image shows the family smiling together, unaware it would be their final photograph.
According to Mohammed Asif, who lost several close relatives in the accident, the group had completed Umrah and was returning to Medina when the tragedy unfolded. Around 1:30 am, their bus rammed into a tanker about 30 km from the city, igniting a massive fire that engulfed the vehicle within moments. Most passengers, asleep at the time, could not escape.
“My sister-in-law, brother-in-law, their son, daughters, and their children were all on the bus,” Asif told NDTV. He identified some victims as Naseeruddin (70), his wife Akhter Begum (62), their son Salauddin (42), and daughters Amina (44), Rizwana (38), and Shabana (40).
“Eighteen members of one family, nine adults and nine children, gone at once. It is beyond imagination,” he added.
