The children of a couple from Glasgow who were killed in a bus crash on a religious pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia have flown to the Arab state to identify their bodies.
Mohammad Aslam and his wife, Talat, who have five children, were killed while travelling with a party of 12 from Mecca to Medina.
The couple, who were originally from Pakistan, were also grandparents to six children, and had lived in the Newlands area of Glasgow for about 25 years. They died alongside three generations of another British family, including a two-month-old baby, in the minibus crash on Wednesday.
Ataka Anis, 28, from Manchester, is fighting for her life in a coma in King Fahd hospital in Medina, after her baby son, Adam, died in the crash. His siblings Ayaan, two, and Jemimah, one, were also injured.
Ataka’s parents, Mohammed Khurshid Ahmed, 64, and Noshina Ahmed, 49, also died along with Noshina’s sister, Rabia Ahmed, 56. Noshina and Rabia’s sisters, Sadia Chaudhury, 62 and Fozia Zahid, 65, were also hurt in the crash.
Friends said Mohammad Aslam, a 71-year-old businessman, and Talat, 62, flew out to Saudi Arabia on 12 January. They were performing Umrah, a pilgrimage made by Muslims to Mecca at any time of year.
They are believed to have died from head injuries after the minibus they were travelling in, which was carrying 12 passengers, was involved in an accident between Mecca and Medina. The driver is believed to have survived.
Friends paid tribute to the couple and said their three sons had travelled to Saudi Arabia to identify their bodies.
Salma Raja, a lifelong friend of Talat, said the local community was struggling to come to terms with the deaths.
Raja, a child development officer at Glasgow city council, said: “We can’t begin to comprehend what has happened. I last saw her on Tuesday evening. We sat and drank tea together and had some food. She was her usual jolly self and told me that she would pray for me. She was a very social person, the life and soul of every gathering.”
The trip was organised by the Manchester-based tour operator, Haji Tours, which offered its condolences to the families of the victims.
Heartbroken relatives of the Manchester victims have also spoken about the devastating crash. All the family members were understood to be from Chorlton and Whalley Range.
Fozia Zahid’s daughter, Farah Zahid, said her family had been “torn apart”. She said: “We are a very close-knit family.
“This has been devastating for all of us. Our family is never going to be the same again. Everyone is either in shock or completely heartbroken. We are very lucky that our family is well known in Manchester and Glasgow and that there has been a huge show of support from the community already.”
Farah said about 20 members of her family were waiting for visas to be approved to enable them to travel to Saudi on Friday night. She said relatives would be keeping a bedside vigil for those who survived the crash, as well as arranging the repatriation of those who died.
The Foreign Office confirmed the crash, saying six Britons had died. A spokesman said: “We are supporting the families of six British people who have sadly died following a road accident in Saudi Arabia. We are also helping several more British nationals who were injured in the crash. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families at this very difficult time.”
