Telangana man and colleague die in Saudi Arabia desert after running out of fuel and mobile battery

In a tragic incident, a 27-year-old man from Telangana and his Sudanese colleague died after being stranded in Saudi Arabia's Rub' al Khali desert.

According to reports, the duo succumbed to dehydration after becoming lost in the desert. Their GPS signal failed, their mobile phones ran out of battery, and their vehicle ran out of fuel, leaving them stranded. The incident occurred sometime between August 19 and August 21, while they were on a mission to repair a cellular tower.

Family members of Mohammad Shehzad Khan confirmed the heartbreaking news. Both Mohammad Shehzad Khan and his Sudanese colleague were telecommunications professionals who had been working in Saudi Arabia for the past three years. On August 19, they ventured into the treacherous Rub' al Khali desert, also known as the 'Empty Quarter.'


"The bodies of the two men were found on a prayer rug," said Bheema Reddy, president of the Immigrants Welfare Forum.

The Rub' al Khali, or Empty Quarter, spans around 650,000 square kilometers, primarily in southeastern Saudi Arabia, with parts extending into Yemen, Oman, and the UAE. It is one of the most arid and uninhabited regions on Earth, covering over a quarter of Saudi Arabia’s total area.

Historical evidence suggests that shallow lakes existed in the Empty Quarter between 6,000 and 2,000 years ago. In 1931, Briton Bertram Thomas became the first Western explorer to cross this vast desert, covering 1,300 kilometers in 59 days.