A fatal accident involving a bus filled with Indian pilgrims killed at least 45 people near Saudi Arabia's holy city of Medina, Indian police said Monday, one of the deadliest crashes in the Gulf kingdom in years.

"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.

"According to preliminary information, 46 people were travelling in the bus at the time of the incident, and heartbreakingly, only one person survived," he said.