35 foreigners were reportedly killed and four injured after a chartered bus for tourists crashed into an excavator. Saudi's SPA agency reported that the passengers were of Asian and Arabic nationalities. The injured have been admitted at the Al Hamna Hospital.
Saudi Arabia had earlier claimed it will offer tourist visas for the first time, opening up the ultra-conservative kingdom to holidaymakers as part of a push to diversify its economy away from oil. Kickstarting tourism is one of the centrepieces of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 reform programme to prepare the biggest Arab economy for a post-oil era.
Prince Mohammed is seeking to change that through a sweeping liberalisation drive that has brought new cinemas, mixed-gender concerts and sporting extravaganzas to Saudi Arabia.
International criticism of the kingdom's human rights record, including the gruesome murder last year of critic Jamal Khashoggi and a crackdown on female activists, could further put off foreign visitors, observers say.
Fears of a regional conflict after the September 14 attacks on state oil giant Aramco may also dampen the kingdom's appeal to holidaymakers.
Visas are currently restricted to expat workers, their dependents and Muslim pilgrims travelling to holy sites in Mecca and Medina.
Saudi Arabia last year began issuing visas to visitors to attend sporting and cultural events in a bid to kickstart tourism.
