Irishman fortunate to avoid massacre in Saudi Arabia

THE ongoing dangers for Irish expatriates in Saudi Arabia were further emphasised yesterday when it emerged that another Irishman was fortunate to avoid being shot dead earlier this year.

He turned up for work slightly later than usual to find a scene of carnage - the result of a shooting spree by Islamic militants in the port city of Khobar, 250 miles north-east of the capital, Riyadh.

The man, who is in his 60s and originally from the Douglas area of Cork, works in the Khobar Petroleum Centre, a compound which is home to the offices of several international oil companies.