Three stranded Saudis rescued from desert

Manama: Three young Saudi men had a lucky escape after they were stranded for six hours after midnight amid desert dunes halfway between the capital Riyadh and Makkah.

Police in Humiyat in Afifi in central Saudi Arabia said they received a phone call at 1 am on Monday from three young men informing them they were lost around 80 kilometres to the East of Humiyat, but were not able to give their exact location.

A special team launched a massive search and rescue operation and scanned the area to locate the stranded youth.

The team discovered them after six hours next to their car that was partially buried in the thick desert dunes, Saudi news site Sabq reported on Monday.

None of them was hurt and they were transported to a safe place, the police said.

Authorities in the vast kingdom have regularly warned people who are not well versed with the desert to avoid adventuring in dangerous terrains.

One online commentor said that the three men should have burned a tyre to help the rescue team locate them.

"A burned tyre smoke is very dense and it would have made it much easier for the police to find the stranded adventurers," Abdullah Al Qahtani said.