A day after Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched a palace purge by arresting several of his fellow royals, a high-ranking prince has mysteriously died in a helicopter crash, according to state television.
Prince Mansour bin Muqrin, the son of former Crown Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, was in the southern part of the kingdom near Yemen when the aircraft went down, the Al-Ekhbariya news channel announced Sunday.
Bin Muqrin, who was deputy governor of Saudi Arabia’s Asir Province, in the southern part of the kingdom, had been touring the area with eight other government officials, who also died, the Al-Arabiya news service reported.
A short video of the prince and other passengers boarding the chopper surfaced after the news broke. The clip shows the group of men, their white robes billowing in the wind, climbing into the aircraft.
State media did not reveal the cause of the crash.
On Saturday, it was revealed that dozens of princes, ministers and a billionaire tycoon were arrested as Bin Salman — who was appointed the head of Saudi Arabia earlier this year — continues his attempts to consolidate his power.
His actions have been interpreted as an attempt to eliminate any trace of dissent within the ranks before a the formal transfer of power from his 81-year-old father, King Salman.
On Sunday, Saudi officials began sweeping arrests, allegedly to end longstanding corruption.
Those detained by authorities include Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a billionaire investor who owns major stakes in companies like Twitter and Citigroup.
Bin Salman has instituted by royal decree some controversial measures to modernize the oil-rich Mediterranean nation by allowing women the right to drive.
Meanwhile, the crash also comes just a day after Houthi rebels in Yemen allegedly launched a ballistic missile at an airport in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, state media reported.
The missile was intercepted and destroyed, according to reports.
The attack shines light on the ways in which the war in Yemen is spilling into Saudi Arabia, since a Saudi-led coalition began its military intervention there in 2015.
Nearly 8,000 people have been killed in the Yemeni crisis as the Saudi and US-backed government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi battles with the Houthis, who reportedly have been backed by Iran. (agencies)
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