Kingdom Centre orders remote work as two Saudi helicopter crew die near Yemen
Office employees at the Riyadh skyscraper were told to work remotely until further notice. Separately, Saudi officials and the Houthis gave conflicting accounts of a helicopter crash near Yemen.
Riyadh’s Kingdom Centre ordered all office employees to work remotely from Sunday, 18 October, until further notice, according to AFP, as attacks on Saudi Arabia disrupted the capital. The order affects offices in the 99-storey tower; its mall remained open. Separately, the Saudi-led coalition reported that two helicopter crew members died in a crash near the Yemen border.
AFP reported that building management called the remote-work arrangement mandatory in an email and told employees to stay away from their offices. Management gave no reason for the order, so its timing amid the attacks does not establish what prompted it.
Disruption across Riyadh
The instruction came about a week after a Houthi attack on Riyadh’s international airport killed 13 people, AFP reported. The airport remained closed, while schools had extended remote learning measures. Kingdom Centre’s office tenants include Merrill Lynch, McKinsey and the International Monetary Fund, according to AFP.
Bloomberg reported that air-raid alerts sounded in Riyadh overnight and missiles were intercepted elsewhere in Saudi Arabia. It said the capital’s schools extended remote learning for another seven days, while Riyadh’s financial district had yet to indicate that employees could safely return to work. Bloomberg also reported that the Future Investment Initiative, a financial gathering scheduled for later in October, was considering contingency measures including virtual attendance.
Conflicting accounts of the Najran crash
The Saudi-led coalition said an AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter belonging to the Ministry of National Guard crashed in the Najran region because of a technical malfunction, according to AFP, citing coalition spokesman Turki Al-Malki through the Saudi Press Agency. The coalition said both crew members, whom it identified as officers, were killed.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said late Saturday, 17 October, that the group had shot down a Saudi Apache helicopter in the same area, AFP reported. The coalition’s account and the Houthi claim give different explanations and identify different aircraft; the cause of the fatal crash has not been independently established.
The crash comes amid a renewed escalation in the conflict. Bloomberg reported that the Houthis stepped up attacks in October after Saudi-backed Yemeni forces began an offensive to recapture Houthi-held areas. It said the Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting waves of drones over Riyadh during the weekend and destroying missiles elsewhere in the country.
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Sources and context
- Saudi landmark closes offices, chopper pilots killed near YemenAl-Monitor (AFP)
- Saudi Helicopter crash near Yemeni border kills 2 amid escalating Houthi attacksHindustan Times (Bloomberg)
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.