A senior Saudi prince and seven other officials have been killed in a helicopter crash near the country's border with Yemen, state media report, reports BBC.
Prince Mansour bin Muqrin, deputy governor of Asir province, was returning from an inspection tour when his aircraft came down near Abha late on Sunday, the interior ministry said.
It did not give a cause for the crash. But it came hours after a major purge of the kingdom's political and business leadership.
An anti-corruption body led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, ordered the detentions of dozens of people, including 11 princes, four ministers and dozens of ex-ministers.
Analysts see the unprecedented move as an attempt to cement the power of the heir to the throne.
Prince Mansour was the son of Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, a former intelligence chief who was crown prince between January and April 2015, when he was pushed aside by Prince Mohammed's father, King Salman, now 81.
Mansour served as a consultant to his father's royal court and in April 2017 was among eight young royals appointed deputy governors.
Reuters report adds: an anti-corruption probe that has purged Saudi Arabian royals, ministers and businessmen appeared to be widening on Monday after the founder of one of the kingdom's biggest travel companies was reportedly detained.
The Saudi stock index was down 1.1 per cent in early trade, and Al Tayyar Travel plunged 10 per cent in the opening minutes after the company quoted media reports as saying board member Nasser bin Aqeel al-Tayyar had been held by authorities.
The company gave no details but online economic news service SABQ, which is close to the government, reported Tayyar had been detained in an investigation by a new anti-corruption body headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Meanwhile, oil jumped to its highest in over two years on Monday as Saudi Arabia's crown prince cemented his power through a crackdown on corruption, while world shares eased a notch and major currencies traded in tight ranges.
Oil prices reached their highest since July 2015 as Mohammed bin Salman's purge led to arrests of royals, ministers and investors including prominent billionaire investor Alwaleed bin Talal.
The news stirred concerns of Middle Eastern money pulling out of global financial markets. A weekend call by China's central bank governor for tougher financial regulation also hit investor sentiment.
Brent futures were up 32 cents at $62.39 a barrel, the highest since July 2015. U.S. crude CLc1 added 20 cents to 55.91, both up half a percent.
The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 47 countries was 0.1 per cent lower.
European shares fell in early deals following weaker trading in Asia and earnings disappointments weighed. The pan-European STOXX 600 was 0.1 per cent lower by 0843 GMT.
Shares in French hotel group Accor fell 1.7 per cent at the open, the biggest of the CAC 40 fallers, after its third biggest shareholder Prince Alwaleed bin Talal was arrested in the Saudi Arabian crackdown.
Prince Alwaleed, a nephew of the king and owner of investment firm Kingdom Holding, invests in firms such as Citigroup and Twitter. He was among 11 princes, four ministers and tens of former ministers detained, three senior officials told Reuters on Sunday.
RBC Capital Markets said in a note that although the "purge represents a stunning political development in Saudi Arabia," it expected "no immediate changes" in the oil policy of Saudi Arabia, which is the world's biggest exporter of crude oil.
"(Mohammed bin Salman) seems strongly committed to anchoring the OPEC agreement deep into 2018 and moving ahead with the Aramco sale," RBC said.
