An Indian national who was critically injured in the October 10 attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh has died, the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday (November 4).
"With a heavy heart, we share that another Indian national, critically injured in the 10 October attack on Riyadh airport, has passed away in the ICU," the embassy said on X. It did not give his name. It said it had stood by his family "throughout, and we remain with them now", and would help bring his body to India or arrange a funeral in Riyadh, according to the family's wishes.
The Riyadh attack
One Indian, identified as Mohammed Yousuf Ali, was killed in the attack itself, PTI reported; his funeral was held in Riyadh on October 12. Saudi Arabia blamed Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, although the group did not officially claim it. Saudi civil aviation authorities initially reported 12 deaths and 309 injuries; with the two Indian deaths since, the toll has risen to 14, according to PTI.
On October 23, the embassy said two injured Indians were still in intensive care and two others in general wards, while seven had been discharged.
The wider toll
The death takes the number of Indians killed since the West Asia conflict began in February to 24, Hindustan Times reported. Seafarers account for 15 of them. Another attack, on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on October 21, killed an Indian and injured two. On Monday, an Indian seafarer died when a projectile struck an Indian-flagged dhow, the MSV Al Jusufi, off Oman; Oman's Coast Guard rescued the other 13 Indians on board.
Why it matters
More than 10 million Indians live in West Asia, most of them blue-collar workers, including at oil fields and airports, and about 18,000 Indian seafarers work on ships in the region, Hindustan Times reported. Indian authorities are also working with airlines and tour operators to bring home hundreds of Indian pilgrims stranded in Saudi Arabia since Indian carriers suspended flights after the latest escalation.