Several people have sustained injuries following an explosion at Riyadh International Airport in Saudi Arabia, prompting the evacuation of passengers from parts of the facility.
According to Reuters, citing eyewitnesses and people familiar with the incident, the blast occurred on Saturday, leaving multiple people injured.
One eyewitness said an explosion was heard inside the airport, after which several people were seen lying on the ground with injuries.
More than a dozen ambulances were reportedly deployed to the airport to respond to the incident.
Saudi Arabia’s government media office and civil aviation authority had yet to respond to requests for comments as of the time of filing this report.
The explosion occurred amid heightened tensions following a series of missile attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi rebels against Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh airport had reportedly come under attack twice earlier in the week, resulting in four deaths, several injuries and severe damage to an aircraft, Reuters reported.
Flight-tracking platform Flightradar24 showed that flights scheduled to land in Riyadh had either been diverted or cancelled. At one point, only a helicopter was observed hovering over the airport.
Airport authorities advised passengers to contact their airlines directly and confirm their flight status before proceeding to the facility.
Kuwait Airways announced the cancellation of flights to and from Riyadh, attributing the decision to the airport’s closure over the prevailing security situation.
Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways also cancelled several services connecting their respective hubs to the Saudi capital, with some cancellations extending into Monday.
The disruption comes ahead of major energy and investment conferences scheduled to hold in Riyadh. However, organisers said on Saturday that the events would go ahead as planned, while seeking to reassure participants about security arrangements.
The Houthis had urged airlines to avoid Saudi airspace, declaring it a military operations zone following an offensive launched against the group earlier this month by Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.
