Fire rages at oil depot in Saudi city hosting F1 race

A fire is raging at an oil depot in the Saudi city of Jiddah ahead of a Formula One race there.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have acknowledged attacking the kingdom.

Online videos showing the blaze were published as practice in the Grand Prix continued despite a large black smoke cloud in the distance.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately known but it comes days after a similar attack on a Jiddah oil depot.

The al-Masirah satellite news channel run by Yemen’s Houthi rebels said more details would be released later about their attacks while not immediately claiming the Houthis were behind the Jiddah fire.

The North Jiddah Bulk Plant run by Saudi Aramco sits just south east of the city’s international airport, a crucial hub for Muslim pilgrims heading to Mecca.

Meanwhile, Saudi state television acknowledged attacks in the town of Dhahran targeting water tanks that damaged vehicles and homes.

Another attack targeted an electrical substation in an area of south-western Saudi Arabia near the Yemeni border, state TV said.

The North Jiddah Bulk Plant stores diesel, gasoline and jet fuel for use in Jiddah, the kingdom’s second-largest city.

It accounts for over a quarter of all of Saudi Arabia’s supplies and also provides fuel crucial to running a regional desalination plant.