Five of the seven people killed by gunmen in Yanbu, Saudia Arabia, on Saturday morning, May 1, were employees of the engineering firm ABB Lummus, which serves the petrochemical industry.
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Saudi Yanbu Petrochemical Plant |
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According to multiple news reports, the gunmen breached ABB's security using company uniforms and identification and opened fire on ABB employees with automatic weapons.
The attack targeted ABB's offices near the Yanpet ethylene cracker joint venture between ExxonMobil Chemical and Saudi Basic Industries.
ABB is under contract for work at the Yanpet joint venture. In addition to the deaths, according to ABB, two workers at a nearby customer's petrochemical plant were injured in the attack.
ExxonMobil said following the incident that the cracker is running "normally."
The gunmen reportedly strapped one of the victims to his car and showed the body off at a local school. Saudi security forces killed all four gunmen after about an hour's pursuit, reports say.
Of the five ABB employees killed, two are American, two are British, and one is Australian. "We are shocked and saddened by the tragic loss of life and injuries sustained by ABB Lummus employees and Saudi nationals in this incident," ABB executive committee member Gary Steel said in a statement.
ABB says its 90 employees in Yanbu will leave the country. However, the firm's other employees in the country will continue their work under tighter security.
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