Passengers and travellers caught up in a deadly missile strike at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport have recounted scenes of panic, bloodshed and confusion, as attacks blamed on Iran-backed Houthi rebels intensified across Saudi Arabia.
asserted
attacks → catch → Arabia
Survivors described hearing a deafening explosion, seeing severely injured people and scrambling to safety as airport sirens sounded.
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sirens → describe → safety
The attack on Saturday killed 12 people and wounded around 300 others, some critically.
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some → kill → others
The airport remained closed on Sunday after another projectile struck a passenger terminal, according to the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen.
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projectile → remain → Yemen
'My blood ran cold'
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blood → run → ?
A 32-year-old Riyadh resident told that a loud explosion shook the airport before alarm sirens triggered panic among passengers, news agency AFP reported.
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AFP → tell → passengers
"I heard a very loud noise, so loud that I felt the airport shake," he said, "The airport alarm sirens went off, and that's when the panic started."
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panic → hear → noise
The man said people from Terminal 3 began running towards them, with several visibly covered in blood.
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several → say → blood
Some had suffered severe injuries, including the loss of a hand or an arm.
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Some → suffer → hand
"People who were in Terminal 3 started running towards us. Some had blood covering their faces," he recounted, "Some had lost a hand or an arm.
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Some → run → hand
People were running while carrying injured people, covered in blood."
The scenes left him terrified and unsure how to respond.
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scenes → run → him
"My blood ran cold.
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blood → run → ?
I didn't know where to go or what to do," he said.
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he → know → what
Security personnel escorted him and other passengers to a lower floor.
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personnel → escort → floor
They waited there for about an hour before being allowed to leave the scene.
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They → wait → scene
As per the report, the passengers spoke on condition of anonymity because of the harsh measures Saudi authorities have threatened against people who speak publicly about strikes.
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who → speak → strikes
Doctors describe severe injuries, trauma
The impact of the attack was also felt across Riyadh's hospitals, where the health ministry activated emergency protocols to handle a mass-casualty incident.
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ministry → describe → incident
Doctors were ordered to report to medical facilities across the capital.
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Doctors → order → capital
One doctor told that the number of casualties was unlike anything he had witnessed before.
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he → tell → anything
Some religious pilgrims travelling to Mecca arrived at hospitals with their white shrouds stained with blood.
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shrouds → travel → blood
"The numbers were far higher than anything I had ever seen here before," the doctor said.
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doctor → see → anything
He described patients with severe limb injuries and shards of glass embedded in their faces and eyes.
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He → describe → faces
"Patients had severe limb injuries and shards of glass embedded in their faces and eyes," he added, "At least four people suffered severe nervous breakdowns."
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people → have → breakdowns
A Saudi military spokesman described the attack as a "full-fledged war crime".
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spokesman → describe → crime
'Talk to us': Residents seek answers
Beyond the immediate casualties, repeated attacks and limited information from authorities have fuelled anxiety among residents.
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attacks → talk → residents
Saudi Arabia has remained largely silent about the scale and extent of Houthi attacks over the past three months, leaving people uncertain about the risks ahead.
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Arabia → remain → risks
Warning text messages that previously alerted residents to incoming barrages have also fallen silent in recent weeks.
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that → alert → weeks
According to the report by AFP, one frustrated Riyadh resident the lack of communication was adding to the fear.
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lack → accord → fear
"I want to leave from here," the resident said, "I understand they do not want to cause panic but talk to us.
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they → want → us
Communication channels will make us feel comfortable."
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us → make → ?
Indian family stranded after flight diversion
The attacks have also disrupted air travel, leaving passengers stranded.
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attacks → strand → passengers
An Indian national whose transit flight to Riyadh was diverted to Dammam said he, his wife and their young child had to spend the night at the airport.
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he → divert → airport
The family said their airline provided no information and their luggage was lost.
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luggage → say → information
"We spent the night at the airport -- on the floor and chairs," he said, "Not just us, there were at least one dozen other people around me from the same flight who kept waiting through the night."
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who → spend → night
The experience left him unwilling to transit through the kingdom again.
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experience → leave → kingdom
"I am never flying through Saudi Arabia again," he said.
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he → fly → Arabia
Another traveller, a 39-year-old woman, said she was aboard a plane heading to Riyadh when it suddenly turned back towards Jeddah.
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it → say → Jeddah
The unexpected change left passengers frightened.
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change → leave → passengers
"We panicked," she said.
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she → panic → ?
Asked whether she would fly within Saudi Arabia again while the war continued, she ruled out the possibility.
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she → ask → possibility
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
