Riyadh: Fourteen people were killed after a helicopter belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco crashed on Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s state news agency reported.
The chopper crashed in Ras Tanura on Saudi Arabia’s eastern coast, west of the Strait of Hormuz.
All those who lost their lives were citizens of Saudi Arabia.
“Investigations are being conducted by relevant authorities to determine the causes of the helicopter crash,” Saudi Press Agency added.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy expressed its condolences to families of the deceased.
“The ministry of energy extends its deepest condolences and sincere sympathies to the families of the deceased, praying that Almighty God grants them mercy and forgiveness and accepts them among the martyrs. Indeed, we belong to God, and to Him we shall return,” the ministry said in a statement.
Aramco had resumed crude oil loadings on Friday at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf after operations were halted for nearly four months due to the war between the United States and Iran, Reuters reported.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, has joined a rush to move cargoes after Middle East producers ramped up oil and gas output and exports ahead of an interim deal to halt the war.
