Yemen: A helicopter with several officials on board crashed, killing the Saudi prince, Prince Mansour bin Muqrin, the deputy governor of Asir province, state television said.
Eight people were on board the helicopter, including the Undersecretary and the Secretary of the Asir Region, Al-Arabiya reported, citing sources. None are believed to have survived the crash.
The news channel Al-Ekhbariya announced the death of Prince and son of a former crown prince. The cause of the crash has not been revealed as yet.
A spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry said that the flight authorities lost contact with the helicopter near the Reda reserve, close to Abha city, where the officials carried out inspections earlier in the day, as per reports.
News of the crash comes as Saudi Arabia pursues a sweeping purge of the kingdom’s upper ranks, with dozens of princes, ministers and a billionaire tycoon arrested as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman cements his hold on power.
Already viewed as the de facto ruler controlling all the major levers of government, from defence to the economy, Prince Mohammed is widely seen to be stamping out traces of internal dissent before a formal transfer of power from his 81-year-old father King Salman.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced rewards of up to $30-million for information that would help arrest or track down some of the top Huthi rebel leaders and planners.
