Several people were injured in an explosion at Riyadh’s international airport on Saturday, prompting evacuations from parts of the facility and disrupting flights, Reuters reported, citing eyewitnesses and people briefed on the incident.
Two eyewitnesses and two people briefed on the matter described the blast and injuries. One witness said they saw an explosion before finding several people lying injured inside the airport.
More than a dozen ambulances were seen heading to the facility, according to the report.
The Saudi government’s media office and the country’s civil aviation authority did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Flights Diverted or Cancelled
Flight-tracking platform Flightradar24 showed flights bound for Riyadh being diverted or cancelled. At one point, only a helicopter was shown hovering over the airport.
The airport advised passengers to contact their airlines and confirm their flight status before travelling to the facility.
Kuwait Airways announced the cancellation of flights to and from Riyadh, citing the airport’s closure because of the “security situation”.
Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways also cancelled several services between their hubs and the Saudi capital, with some cancellations extending into Monday.
Incident Follows Earlier Attacks
The reported explosion occurred amid an escalation of missile strikes by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels against Saudi Arabia.
According to Reuters, Riyadh airport had been attacked twice earlier in the week, leaving four people dead, others injured and an aircraft badly damaged.
The account did not establish the cause of Saturday’s explosion or identify who was responsible.
The Houthis have urged airlines to avoid Saudi airspace, declaring it a zone of military operations following an offensive launched against the group by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government earlier this month.
Conference Organisers Say Events Will Proceed
The disruption comes ahead of major energy and investment conferences scheduled to take place in Riyadh.
Organisers said on Saturday that the events would proceed as planned and sought to reassure participants about security.
The number of people injured in the latest incident and the extent of damage to the airport were not specified in the report.
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