At least 14 people were killed after a helicopter belonging to Saudi Arabia’s oil giant Saudi Aramco crashed in Ras Tanura, which hosts one of the world’s largest oil export terminals.
According to the Saudi Arabian state news agency, the cause of the incident that occured on Sunday remains unknown and an investigation is underway.
All 14 people killed in the crash are reportedly Saudi nationals.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran following a series of military exchanges linked to attacks involving vessels near the Strait of Hormuz.
In response to US strikes over the last couple of days, Iran targeted American assets in several Gulf countries.
According to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), it launched a joint missile and drone operation that destroyed eight US military infrastructures in Kuwait and Bahrain.
The IRGC alleged that US forces had earlier attacked five Iranian coastal positions on Sunday, accusing Washington of violating a ceasefire agreement under the 14-point memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two sides.
The force warned that any future attacks on Iran would receive a “crushing response”.
Earlier in March, Iran had reportedly struck the Saudi Aramco oil facility in Riyadh with its one-way drones, forcing the authorities to shut operations.
According to reports, Aramco had resumed oil loading operations at Ras Tanura earlier this week.
Ras Tanura is one of the world’s largest oil export terminals and a major refining facility.
The operations were shut down since March 8 when Iran targeted the facility, causing significant damage.