Dozens of Indian pilgrims, mostly from a southern state, are feared dead after a bus collision on Monday near the holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia, Indian officials said.

Indian police said Monday that an overnight bus accident in Saudi Arabia killed 45 Muslim pilgrims.

"The tragic bus accident involving Indian pilgrims in Saudi Arabia is deeply distressing," V.C. Sajjanar, police commissioner for the city of Hyderabad, where many of the Indian citizens were reported to have come from, told reporters.

The bus with 46 people onboard was travelling from Mecca to Medina when it collided with a diesel tanker on a highway, Gaurav Uppal, a senior official of Telangana state, told The Associated Press.

“Around 45 people from Telangana are feared dead in the accident, while one person is injured,” said Uppal, who is based out of New Delhi and is one of the key officials coordinating rescue efforts with Indian authorities in Saudi.

Saudi officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.