Funerals were performed in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Region on Monday for the 14 victims of a Saudi Aramco helicopter crash.
Governor of the Eastern Region Prince Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz and Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz performed the funeral prayer for seven of the victims at Al-Furqan Mosque in Dammam. Prayers were performed for three other victims in the al-Qatif region.
The Energy Ministry and Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser offered their condolences over the martyrs.
The accident occurred around 6 a.m. in Ras Tanura on Sunday, and everyone killed was a Saudi national, said the Energy Ministry in statement said. An investigation was opened into the cause of the crash.
An official source at the ministry said the aircraft was a Leonardo AW139. It was transporting oil sector workers from the underwater and offshore oil fields in the Gulf.
Saudi Arabia offered its condolences to Qatar on Monday over the death of a Qatari citizen who was injured by shrapnel resulting from the recent military operations in the region. One resident was also wounded in the incident.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the Kingdom expressed its solidarity with Qatar, its government and people, extending its condolences to the family of the deceased, and wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
Qatar had on Sunday announced the death of a citizen and the injury of a resident, in a maritime incident, as a result of their being hit by shrapnel from military operations in the region.
In a statement, the Ministry of Interior said as part of routine monitoring and verification procedures for maritime vessels conducted by General Directorate of Coasts and Boarders Security, it was noted that a vessel with two individuals on board had failed to return at its scheduled time.
The Maritime Search and Rescue Team of the General Directorate of Coasts and Borders Security located the missing vessel on Sunday.
Search operations confirmed that a Qatari citizen was martyred after sustaining injuries from shrapnel resulting from the military operations in the area. An Arab resident was also injured and has been transferred to hospital for medical treatment. He is in stable condition.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah arrived in Beijing on Tuesday on an official visit to China.
He is scheduled to meet with senior government officials to discuss bilateral relations and regional and international issues of common interest.
France and Oman are working together to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East and will cooperate with their partners on clearing mines from the Strait of Hormuz, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday.
“We have decided to collaborate, in conjunction with our partners, on clearing mines from the Strait in order to secure maritime routes and guarantee free and unconditional passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” Macton wrote on X after meeting with Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said at the Elysee Palace.
