All 14 people on board died after a helicopter belonging to Saudi oil giant “Saudi Aramco“ crashed on the country's east coast.
The victims are Saudi citizens, employees of the company, the local Ministry of Energy reported, quoted by SPA and ASN.
The incident occurred on Sunday morning near the city of Ras Tanura - one of the largest crude oil processing and export complexes in the Middle East.
Technical details of the flight
According to aviation records, the crashed machine is a model Leonardo AW139. The helicopter was flying from an offshore platform in the Persian Gulf back to the airport in Ras Tanura. According to transponder data, the machine began a sharp and rapid descent, then crashed north of the runway during the approach phase for landing.
No signs of attack
Saudi authorities immediately launched an investigation to establish the technical causes of the tragedy. The Ministry of Energy explicitly emphasized that there were no indications of an external or hostile attack.
This clarification is critical for international markets, as the incident coincides with the official resumption of oil supplies from the Ras Tanura terminal after a nearly four-month interruption due to regional tensions in the Middle East.