Mystery ailment claims lives of 232 camels in 4 days

Riyadh: Hundreds of camels have died in Saudi Arabia this week from a mystery ailment.

The Agriculture Ministry said 232 camels died in four days in the Dawasir Valley, 400 km south of Riyadh.

King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz has promised compensation for owners, who say the real number of deaths is far higher.

The ministry officials have denied an infectious disease caused the deaths and blamed them on animal feed supplied by food storage authorities.

"The disease has to be limited to one place to prevent it spreading and then they have to find a serum," said camel breeder Hamad Al Harthy, who talked of hundreds of deaths.