Helicopter crash kills 14 at Saudi Aramco oil facility in Ras Tanura

A helicopter operated by Saudi oil giant Aramco crashed on Sunday morning in Ras Tanura, killing all 14 people on board, according to Saudi state news agency SPA. The victims were all Saudi citizens.

The crash

The accident occurred at 6:00 a.m. local time (03:00 GMT) in Ras Tanura, home to the world's largest offshore oil loading platform and Saudi Arabia's biggest refinery Source: eldiado. The Ministry of Energy confirmed the deaths and said an investigation has been launched in coordination with relevant authorities Source: hoydo. The purpose of the flight has not been disclosed Source: clarin. Aramco has not yet commented on the incident Source: elconfidencial.

Recent context

The crash comes just days after Aramco resumed crude loading at the Ras Tanura terminal, which had been shut for nearly four months following Iranian drone and missile attacks in early March Source: lavanguardia. The helicopter was operated by Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, which is majority-owned by the Saudi state Source: hoydo. The Ras Tanura facility had been forced to close in early March after fragments from intercepted Iranian drones sparked a fire, causing minor damage Source: elespanol. The terminal only resumed operations two days before the crash, after nearly four months of reduced activity due to the Iran conflict and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which forced Aramco to reroute exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu Source: infobae.