SRINAGAR: At least 12 people were killed and 309 injured after a missile struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said, with some of the injured reported to be in critical condition.
According to GACA, the deceased included four Saudi citizens and eight residents of other nationalities. The victims comprised two Bangladeshis and one national each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. The injured are receiving treatment at several hospitals, the authority said.
The strike also caused damage to property, the extent of which was still being assessed, according to GACA.
Airport operations were temporarily suspended following the incident, and travellers were evacuated from the premises. Ambulances rushed to the site as authorities responded to the emergency.
Passengers had earlier been advised to check their flight status with airlines before travelling to the airport. Data from flight-tracking platform Flightradar24 showed that flights heading to Riyadh were being diverted to other destinations nearly four hours after the last flight landed at 2.05 pm local time.
FlightAware, another flight-tracking service, reported that at least 225 flights at the airport had been cancelled during the preceding 24 hours.
The United States Embassy in Riyadh acknowledged the attacks and urged American citizens in the Saudi capital to avoid the airport and nearby areas. The British Embassy also advised British nationals to stay away from the vicinity, describing the situation as a “serious incident”.
The latest strike follows attacks targeting King Khalid International Airport and Abha International Airport on October 6 and 7. GACA had reported three deaths and 36 injuries in those earlier incidents.
King Khalid International Airport has faced repeated attacks over the past week amid an escalating military confrontation involving a Saudi-led coalition and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen.
GACA expressed condolences to the families of those killed and wished the injured a speedy recovery.
