Saudi officials say a helicopter carrying government officials has crashed in the kingdom's south, reportedly killing a high-ranking prince and seven others.

The Saudi Interior Ministry said early Monday that the crash happened in Saudi Arabia's Asir province.

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

The Saudi-owned satellite news channel Al-Arabiya says the crash killed Prince Mansour bin Murquin and seven others. Prince Mansour is the deputy governor of Asir province.

Prince Mansour is the son of Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, a former director-general of the Saudi Intelligence Agency and a one-time crown prince of the kingdom. Prince Muqrin was removed as crown prince in April 2015 by King Salman. The crown prince now is King Salman's 32-year-old son. 

A chilling footage of the prince boarding the helicopter before it took off and crashed has appeared online. Watch it below: