Saudi Helicopter Carrying Eight High-Ranking Officials And Prince Bin-Muqrin Crashed Near Yemen Border – All Dead
The shocking latest twist in what has been a chaotic weekend in Saudi Arabia is news that a helicopter transporting 8 high-ranking Saudi officials (including prince Mansour bin-Muqrin) has crashed in the south of the Kingdom, near the border with Yemen.
As PTI reports, a Saudi prince was killed today when a helicopter with several officials on board crashed near the kingdom’s southern border with war-torn Yemen, state television said.
The news channel Al-Ekhbariya announced the death of Prince Mansour bin Muqrin, the deputy governor of Asir province and son of a former crown prince.
It did not reveal the cause of the crash or the fate of the other officials aboard the aircraft.
The crash also comes after Saudi Arabia yesterday intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile near Riyadh’s international airport after it was fired from Yemen in an escalation of the kingdom’s war against Iran-backed Huthi rebels.
Sky News Arabia confirms an earlier report from Al-Watan news…“Newsletter: loss of a helicopter carrying a number of officials in the southern Asir, Saudi Arabia”
الإخبارية السعودية: فقدان طائرة مروحية تقل عددا من المسؤولين في عسير جنوبي السعودية
— سكاي نيوز عربية-الآن (@SkyNewsArabia_B) November 5, 2017
Details are few for now but some headlines report that the high-ranking officials aboard included Crown Prince Mansour bin-Muqrin, deputy Emir of Asir province. He was a son of Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the ex-intelligence chief who briefly was Saudi Arabia’s crown prince from January to April 2015.
#Saudi state tv just announced the death of Prince Mansour bin Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Governor of Asir Region, in a helicopter crash https://t.co/JoT1twshBB
— SaadAbedine (@SaadAbedine) November 5, 2017
The incident occurred as the officials were on their way back from an inspection trip to al-Saida al-Sawalha Center in the municipality of Mahail Asir…
سمو #الأمير_منصور_بن_مقرن
نائب أمير #عسير خلال جولته
بمحافظة #البرك متفقداً عدداً
من المشاريع التنموية للمحافظة .. pic.twitter.com/vXa6kSuBsO— الأمير منصور بن مقرن (@hrhpmmugrin) November 5, 2017
A video, believed to be the last one of Prince Mansour alive, was released by the channel, showing him and accompanying officials boarding the helicopter ….
— abo0o0dy.. (@AbduAseeri) November 5, 2017
The crash site is reported near Abha, in the south of The Kingdom in the Asir Region, bordering Yemen. The area has seen a number of cross-border retaliatory attacks from Yemen in recent months, reportedly leading to casualties among Saudi troops.
There are sources saying all aboard have died…
KSA :A helicopter with Saudi officials on board(among them : vice-governor of Asir Mansour bin Muqrin) crashed today:all passengers died https://t.co/8vrf5bTybP
— MESP (@mestrate) November 5, 2017
The bodies of the deceased officials have been recovered, SaudiNews50 reported late Sunday, after posting a video of the recovery efforts…
وفاة نائب أمير #عسير #منصور_بن_مقرن ومرافقيه في تحطم طائرة. تعازينا للأسرة المالكة وللشعب السعودي ولمنطقة عسير. #تحطم_طايره_مروحيه_عسير pic.twitter.com/QvVkfItXTl
— شبكة نازلة بللحمر (@nazlah_com) November 5, 2017
So – Trump pushes Aramco IPO (out of the blue), Prime Minister of Lebanon forced to resign, Saudis intercept missiles, 11 Saudi princes arrested, numerous officials charged, and now a dead crown prince near the border with Yemen…
Just what is going on in Saudi Arabia?