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A fire was reported Saturday near King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, sending black smoke into the air as the airport faced major flight delays and cancellations.
Reportedly, an Aramco fuel tank near Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport was on fire, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalist.
"In the direction of the airport we saw black smoke and fire," one resident told AFP.
Firefighters were seen attempting to extinguish the flames at the burnt-out fuel tank, which bore the logo of Saudi oil giant Aramco.
A video filmed from a DHL warehouse at the airport showed a column of smoke rising from the fuel storage depot adjacent to the facility.
Weather satellite imagery shows 2 clear bursts of smoke, with locals cited by the Faytuks Network, an open-source intelligence (OSINT) outlet, also reporting no smoke is visible currently.
Aircraft tracking website FlightRadar24 reported major issues at King Khalid International Airport, including flight cancellations and delays.
The airport was listed under the site's maximum disruption index of 5.0, indicating "major problems with long delays and several cancelled flights."
The disruption came after Saudi authorities issued an overnight air raid alert, the first since fighting in neighboring Yemen intensified this month.
Hours after the early morning alert, residents told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity, that they heard what sounded like another round of explosions echoing through parts of the Saudi capital.
Yemen's Houthis have staged a lightning offensive this month, seizing swathes of territory in one of the world's poorest countries, leaving the internationally recognized government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, scrambling to respond.
Saudi Arabia itself, one of the region's powerhouses, has conducted scores of airstrikes on Houthi-held areas but failed to stop the advance. It has also sought help from its ally, the United States, which has not materialized.
This is the first time since Yemen's long-standing civil war resumed that it has threatened the Saudi capital, further shaking a global economy already under pressure by nearly seven months of war between the U.S. and Iran.
"The area is under a hostile aerial threat," according to a message received just before 3:00 am by Riyadh residents, urging them to stay indoors.
AFP journalists then heard two explosions before the Saudi civil defense agency lifted the alert half an hour later.
"I heard the alarm, then my windows shook," a Riyadh resident, 27, living in the city's north, told AFP.
"It was definitely scary. I was not expecting this."
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