Father of Saudi royal prince killed in helicopter crash broke down in tears as he attends his son's funeral (Details, pics)

An emotional former Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia laid his son to rest after he was killed in a helicopter crash amid the kingdom's anti-corruption purge.

Prince Mansour bin Murqin died on Sunday in the crash alongside seven government officials.

His father Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz was today pictured at the funeral, carrying his son's body and sorrowfully bowing his head as the kingdom continued to reel from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's sweep on suspected fraudsters.

Also at the afternoon funeral today, as masses gathered to pray, were  Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, advisor to King Salman Khalid al-Faisal, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Prince of Asir Faisal bin Khalid and Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Al-Asheikh, according to Al Arabiya.

The helicopter crash victim's father had 14 children and became Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and First Deputy Prime Minister on January 13, 2015.

His tenure lasted barely three months and he was relieved of his position as Crown Prince on April 29, 2015

The helicopter carrying a high-ranking Saudi prince and other government officials crashed Sunday in the kingdom's south, killing all eight people aboard.

The Saudi Interior Ministry said early Monday that the crash happened in Saudi Arabia's Asir province as the official took part in a tour of local projects near Abha, some 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the border with Yemen.

Prince Mansour was the deputy governor of Asir province and son of former intelligence service director Prince Murqin.

Murqin was removed as crown prince by his half brother King Salman in favor of Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a counterterrorism czar and interior minister.

But in June, King Salman also ousted Prince Mohammed in favor of the king's 32-year-old son, the now-Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as first in line to the throne.

All these moves have cemented the young crown prince's position in power.

The anti-corruption arrests late Saturday of dozens of the country's most powerful princes, military officers, influential businessmen and government ministers in a purported anti-corruption campaign have further cemented his control.
Although 11 princes and 38 former government ministers have been detained in the crackdown, the anti-corruption drive is expanding further.

Saudi Arabia's central bank has ordered the detainees' accounts to be frozen but have also added dozens of names to their list, according to Bloomberg.

As a result, $25billion of personal wealth belonging to those arrested is at risk of being seized along with property and assets.
Saudi billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal - who is one of the richest men in the world and owns the British capital’s top hotel the Savoy - is one of the men who has been detained.

The Saudi information ministry also stated the government would seize any asset or property related to the alleged corruption, meaning London’s Savoy hotel could become state property in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a military coalition against Yemen's Houthi rebels since March 2015.

Security officials gave no cause for the crash, but said a search of the wreckage was underway.

In Yemen, Houthi officials offered no immediate comment on the crash, while the group's Al-Masirah satellite news channel reported only that the crash had occurred.

With his sweeping royal purge, Saudi Arabia's future king has upended a decades-old system of governance adopted by previous rulers in what analysts describe as a bold but risky power play.

Dozens of political and business figures were arrested at the weekend in what Saudi authorities have dubbed an anti-corruption swoop, including billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, while powerful royals such as the national guard chief were sacked.

The dramatic clampdown on business figures could deal a blow to investor confidence,

potentially derailing sweeping Vision 2030 reforms, the brainchild of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The purge underscores an unprecedented restructuring of the kingdom as Prince Mohammed dismantles a governance model involving consensus within the royal family, while he amasses extraordinary power.

'The structure of dynastic rule established over the past few decades is being reshaped into a more centralised monarchical system,' said Jane Kinninmont, of London-based think tank Chatham House.

'MBS is disrupting the model of Saudi government,' Kinninmont said using an acronym widely used for the crown prince.

Saudi authorities hailed the dramatic crackdown as a bold initiative to root out corruption

But analysts question whether the issue serves as a guise for Prince Mohammed to consolidate power by eliminating rivals opposed to his reform drive and eventual succession as king.

'The dismissals and detentions suggest that Prince Mohammed rather than forging alliances is extending his iron grip to... counter opposition,' said James Dorsey from Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

'It raises questions about the reform process that increasingly is based on a unilateral rather than a consensual rewriting of the kingdom's social contract.'

Prince Mohammed's supporters lionise him as an enlightened disrupter of the status quo as he pursues dramatic social and economic reforms to modernise the kingdom and prepare for a post-oil era.