Saudi Prince Mansour bin Muqrin and seven other people were killed in a helicopter crash near the country’s border with war-torn Yemen.
Chilling footage obtained by Al Arabiya TV shows the passengers boarding the aircraft shortly before it went down and disappeared from radar.
Everyone on board – including senior government officials and a mayor – died in the crash reported by local media . They were reportedly taking a helicopter tour of development projects near the coast.
The cause of the crash has not been revealed. It occurred a day after 11 princes, four ministers and tens of former ministers were arrested in an anti-corruption purge launched by Saudi Arabia’s future king, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
And the crash also came a day after Saudi Arabia’s defence forces shot down a long-range ballistic missile fired towards the capital Riyadh by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.