Several people were injured in an explosion at Riyadh’s international airport in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, prompting the evacuation of passengers from parts of the facility, according to eyewitnesses and sources familiar with the incident.
Two eyewitnesses and two people briefed on the development told Reuters that the blast left multiple people wounded.
One witness said an explosion occurred before several injured people were seen lying on the ground inside the airport.
More than a dozen ambulances were reportedly dispatched to the airport following the incident. However, Saudi Arabia’s government media office and civil aviation authority had yet to respond to requests for comment at the time of reporting.
The explosion occurred amid an intensification 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, leaving four people dead, several others injured and an aircraft severely damaged, Reuters reported.
Flight-tracking platform Flightradar24 indicated that flights heading to Riyadh had been diverted or cancelled. At one point, a helicopter was reportedly the only aircraft visible hovering over the airport.
Airport authorities advised passengers to contact their airlines and confirm their flight status before setting out. Kuwait Airways announced the cancellation of flights to and from Riyadh, citing the airport’s closure over the security situation.
Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways also cancelled several services connecting their respective hubs with the Saudi capital, with some cancellations extending into Monday.
The disruption has affected air travel ahead of major energy and investment conferences scheduled to take place in Riyadh. 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 stay away from Saudi airspace, declaring it a military operations zone after the Saudi-backed Yemeni government launched an offensive against the group earlier this month.