Second Indian national dies from Riyadh airport attack wounds, Saudi toll hits 14

Another Indian national has died from injuries sustained in the October 10 attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia announced the death on Wednesday, saying the man had been critically injured and passed away in intensive care.

The embassy said it had stayed close to the family throughout and remains with them now, offering condolences. It added that it will do everything possible to either send the body home to India or arrange a funeral in Riyadh, depending on what the family wants.

He is the second Indian victim of the strike. The first, Mohammed Yousuf Ali, was laid to rest in Riyadh on October 12. In a status update on October 23, the embassy said two injured Indians were still in the ICU while two others were on general hospital wards, and that seven had already been discharged.

Saudi Arabia has blamed Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels for the attack, though the group never formally claimed it. The kingdom's General Authority of Civil Aviation first put the toll at 12 dead and 309 wounded.

That number has crept upward since. It went to 13 when the first Indian national died of his injuries, and now sits at 14 after the second. For the families still waiting on ICU beds in Riyadh, the count is anything but abstract.

The embassy has not said when the latest victim's remains will be repatriated or buried, noting that the decision rests with his relatives.