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A helicopter belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco crashed Sunday in Ras Tanura in eastern Saudi Arabia, killing 14 Saudi citizens, the kingdom's official press agency reported.
The Saudi Press Agency, citing an official at the Energy Ministry, said the aircraft crashed in Ras Tanura, a coastal city west of the Strait of Hormuz.
"The accident claimed the lives of all 14 passengers, all Saudi citizens," the agency said.
The cause of the crash was not yet known, and an investigation was underway with the participation of relevant authorities to determine what caused the helicopter to crash.
Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy extended its "deepest condolences and sincere sympathies to the families of the victims."
The helicopter belonged to the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, known as Aramco, according to Saudi state media.
The crash took place in Ras Tanura, a key energy hub on Saudi Arabia's eastern coast.
Saudi state media did not provide further details on the circumstances of the crash or the type of helicopter involved.
The kingdom did not indicate that the incident was connected in any way to a hostile attack.
Aramco says it operates more than 60 aircraft, including helicopters serving more than 300 heliports in Saudi Arabia.
The company describes the fleet as one of the largest corporate fleets in the region.
The crash occurred as Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Gulf nations seek to increase output after Iranian attacks and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas exports.
During the Middle East war, Iranian attacks had targeted energy facilities in the Gulf.
Ras Tanura is home to one of the largest refineries in the Middle East, with a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day, and is critical to Saudi Arabia's energy sector.
The refinery has been targeted several times, including during an Iranian drone attack at the beginning of the conflict, which caused a fire and forced a partial shutdown.
Riyadh said in April that weeks of attacks had disrupted several production operations at key facilities, with refineries in Ras Tanura as well as Jubail, Yanbu and Riyadh targeted.
Aramco had resumed crude oil loadings on Friday at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf after they were halted for nearly four months.
Saudi Arabia, the world's leading crude exporter, produces a little over 10 million barrels per day.
The country also joined a rush to move cargoes after Middle East producers increased oil and gas output and exports ahead of an interim deal to halt the war between the United States and Iran.
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