A helicopter crashed on Sunday in Ras Tanura, killing 14 passengers.
It should be noted that the helicopter belongs to the Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco.
The accident occurred off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia, west of the Strait of Hormuz, according to the state news agency, adding that the cause remains unknown.
Aramco had resumed crude oil shipments on Friday at its terminal in Ras Tanura on the Gulf, following a hiatus of nearly four months.
“Investigations are underway, with the participation of the relevant authorities, to determine the causes of the helicopter crash,” the state news agency added.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has joined a race to transport cargo, after Middle Eastern producers increased oil and natural gas production and exports in anticipation of an interim agreement to end the war between the United States and Iran.
A Bad Precedent
The deadliest airline accidents in Saudi Arabia include the Saudia Flight 163 tragedy in 1980 (301 fatalities) and the crash of Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 in Jeddah in 1991 (261 fatalities). More recently, the Saudi Aramco helicopter crash in the Persian Gulf in 2026 was also fatal.
Second aviation tragedy in a single day
Eleven people were killed when the aircraft they were traveling in crashed in the town of Tomblen, in northeastern France today, according to regional authorities.
The aircraft belonged to a skydiving school. The pilot and the ten passengers—five trainees and five instructors—were killed in the accident, according to the same source.
The French Minister of the Interior is rushing to the scene of the tragedy, the Ministry of the Interior reported.
The aircraft took off this morning from Nancy Airport, carrying a team of skydivers who were scheduled to perform a test jump.
A large rescue operation has been deployed to the scene, and the area has been cordoned off.
