The Border Guard in the southern part of the Eastern Province rescued seven European tourists and two Omani nationals who had lost their way in the Empty Quarter desert and entered Saudi Arabia. They were found in bitterly cold weather without fuel, food and water and close to death, according to a local newspaper.

Col. Khalid Khalifa Al-Arqoubi, spokesman for Eastern Province’s Border Guard, said a patrol spotted two four-wheel vehicles near the Saudi-Omani border with the Europeans and the two Omani drivers.

The tourists were on a trip from Oman. There were three German men, three German women and a Swiss man.

The tourists were cold and exhausted and taken to the Border Guard offices in Khairan where they were given blankets, food and water, while the authorities contacted their Omani counterparts. Their vehicles were then filled with fuel and they were escorted to Oman’s Mashash border crossing. A few weeks ago two Saudis almost died after being lost in the desert for four days before the Eastern Province Border Guard found them 160 kilometers from the nearest inhabited area. Last month, the department’s patrols rescued 51 United Arab Emirates nationals including women and children in the same desert.