A helicopter crash in Saudi Arabia on Sunday killed at least 14 people.

The helicopter, operated by Saudi Arabia’s state oil company, Aramco, crashed along the country’s Persian Gulf coast.

Every individual on board died in the crash, Saudi authorities said.

The New York Times shared further:

The passengers were Saudi nationals, the country’s energy ministry reported, adding that the authorities were investigating the cause.

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There was no indication that the crash was related to the ratcheting up of attacks between the United States and Iran in recent days.

The area where the helicopter went down, Ras Tanura, is the site of a major oil refinery and port that the kingdom uses to export oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that has become a flashpoint during the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran. The strait accounted for about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments before the conflict, but Iran effectively blockaded it.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, previously shipped most of its oil for overseas markets through the strait, but since the war began in late February it has rerouted its exports through an overland pipeline to the Red Sea’s coast.

In March, a fire broke out at the refinery and some units were closed after two Iranian drones were intercepted and fragments fell.

According to Al Jazeera, Saudi Aramco “resumed crude oil loading at its Ras Tanura terminal in the Gulf after being halted for nearly four months.”

The UAE expressed its solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and sincere condolences to the families of the victims after the tragedy.

The Jerusalem Post noted:

Ras Tanura hosts the largest refinery in the Middle East, and it is operated by Saudi Aramco.

Saudi Aramco, officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia and the world’s largest integrated energy and chemicals corporation.

Headquartered in Dhahran, it holds the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves and is consistently recognized as the most profitable company globally.

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