On Sunday, June 28, 2026, a Saudi Aramco helicopter crashed in Ras Tanura in eastern Saudi Arabia, killing fourteen Saudis, the official SPA news agency reported. An investigation is underway to determine the causes of the tragedy.
Fourteen Saudis died on Sunday, June 28, 2026, when a helicopter belonging to Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco crashed in Ras Tanura, in the east of the kingdom, the official news agency SPA reported.
“An official source of the Ministry of Energy reported that on Sunday, June 28, 2026, at 6:00 a.m., a helicopter belonging to Saudi Aramco crashed in Ras Tanura. The accident claimed the lives of all 14 passengers, all Saudi citizens,” he said. indicated SPAclarifying that an investigation is underway to establish the causes of the plane crash.
Riyadh has shown no signs of hostile action while fresh exchanges began Thursday against Iran and the United States in the Persian Gulf.
The company has 300 helipads in the kingdom.
Accidents of this type are rare. According to Aramco, the company operates more than 60 aircraft, including helicopters, servicing more than 300 helipads in the kingdom, making it one of the largest corporate fleets in the region. Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, produces just over 10 million barrels a day.
The oil-rich Gulf monarchies are now seeking to increase their production following Iran’s attacks on them during the Middle East conflict and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic sea route for global oil and gas exports closed by Tehran during the war.
Capacity 550,000 barrels per day.
Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura peninsula in the Persian Gulf is home to one of the largest oil refineries in the Middle East, with a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day and a mainstay of the kingdom’s energy sector. The refinery has been attacked several times, including an Iranian drone attack early in the conflict that led to a partial shutdown.
Agency citing anonymous source Bloomberg indicated that activities have since resumed. In April, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy said “multiple attacks” carried out by Iran, had an impact in previous weeks “important energy facilities of the Kingdom”.
These attacks, especially on the oil refineries at Jubail, Ras Tanura, Yanbu and Riyadh, had “direct impact on the export of refined petroleum products to world markets”the ministry reports.