"My sincere sympathies and thoughts are with the families of the four British pilgrims who tragically died in a coach crash in the kingdom on Saturday and for the pilgrims who were injured," Saudi ambassador to Britain, Mohammed bin Nawaf, tweeted. A woman aged in her 60s from Blackburn, Lancashire, an elderly woman and her adult son, from Preston, Lancashire, and an elderly man, also from Preston, died in the crash near the town of Al Khalas, said Blackburn-based travel firm Hashim Travel. Blackburn-based travel company Hashim Travel confirmed one of its buses was hit by a fuel tanker on the way from Mecca to Medina and burst into flames on Saturday afternoon. "The royal embassy of Saudi Arabia in London is working with (Britain's) Foreign Office to issue emergency visas immediately to both the relatives of the four pilgrims who died as well as to families of the 12 British pilgrims who were injured," the embassy said in a statement. “We are in contact with the British Consulate and the High Commissioner.”

The BBC said Mrs Hussain was travelling with her younger sister who survived but was injured, while a young child was also said to have been hurt. The group were travelling in a coach when it collided with a petrol tanker near the town of Al Khalas, said Blackburn-based travel operator Hashim Travel. The Umra pilgrimage, which can be undertaken any time of the year, is a smaller version of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which sees millions of Muslims travel to Mecca. Blackburn-based Hashim Travel says it specialises in Umrah and Hajj and has been providing travel packages to people in north-west England for 20 years. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Gulfaraz Zaman, director of Hashim Travel, called the incident 'disturbing'

Four British people have died and 12 others have been hurt in a coach crash in Saudi Arabia, a travel firm says. The travel firm’s director, Gulfaraz Zaman, said: “The coach driver said they were travelling in the opposite direction to the petrol tanker when a car overtook the tanker and he had to move in to the side of the road a little to let it through but then the petrol tanker hit the coach which caught fire.”

Mr Zaman told the Observer: “It’s very tragic and very sad, especially for the families that have lost their lives. We would like to thank the whole community for their condolences and support at this difficult time.”

The victims were among 18 people on board the coach which was travelling from Mecca to Medina as part of an Umra pilgrimage. The travel firm’s director Gulfaraz Zaman said: “The coach driver said they were travelling in the opposite direction to the petrol tanker when a car overtook the tanker and he had to move in to the side of the road a little to let it through but then the petrol tanker hit the coach which caught fire.”

A Foreign Office (FCO) spokesman said: “We are supporting the British families of those who have died and those injured following a serious road traffic accident near the town of Al Khalas, Saudi Arabia.”

Al Khalas is a settlement roughly 30 miles north of the holy site of Mecca.
A coach carrying British Muslim pilgrims on an Umra trip from Mecca to Medina crashes near Al Khalas, Saudi Arabia. Four are killed and twelve more injured.