16 pilgrims from Jhirra killed in Saudi Arabia accident

Sixteen pilgrims from Jhirra, Asifnagar, including Mansoor and members of two families, died in a Saudi Arabia accident while on Umrah. The news brought grief to the locality, and public representatives visited the families to offer condolences

Hyderabad: Sixteen people from Jhirra, a working-class locality in Asifnagar in the city, are among those killed in the ghastly accident in Saudi Arabia.

Among them is Mansoor, who, along with his mother, wife and daughter, had gone on the pilgrimage. “I had a conversation with them over a video call a couple of hours before the accident. They told me that all of them had done the ‘Isha prayers’, and started on the bus for Madina, and will reach there shortly. In the morning, I got a call informing me about the accident,” said Mohd Masoom, younger brother of Mansoor.

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A little away, in another lane, there was a huge crowd of grief-stricken people. Ten members belonging to two families residing in the area had died in the incident. A local resident, Mohd Abdul Khadeer, had gone on the pilgrimage along with four other members of his family on November 9.

“All of them had decided to embark on the pilgrimage a few months ago and on knowing about their plan, a family in the neighbourhood also joined them. A total of ten people went on the pilgrimage through the same travel agent and all of them died in the accident,” said Abdul Khaleel, brother of Abdul Khadeer.

A pall of gloom descended at the Jhirra locality after the news of the death of 16 people in the ghastly accident.

Local public representatives visited the houses and consoled the relatives.