Manama: Security authorities in the Red Sea city of Jeddah are investigating an armed robbery in a seafood restaurant, an extremely rare occurrence in Saudi Arabia.

Sources said that two men covering their faces stormed into the restaurant wielding guns and asked the accountant to open the safe and hand over all the money.

As the accountant refused, they fired bullets in the air and forced him to open the safe from which they took all the money and fled the scene, Saudi news site Sabq reported late on Sunday.

Investigators carried out their work and sent out a description of the two men and of the car they used in the robbery.

The police are now deploying extraordinary efforts to identify the robbers and arrest the, the sources added.

The seafood restaurant is located inside the Qalzam Park, a recreational area 40 kilometres from Jeddah, often described as “the ultimate choice for a fun-filled family affair” thanks to the sea food from the Red Sea, the entertaining rides and green spaces.

Khalid Al Ghamdi and Mansoor Al Salmi, the co-owners of the park, said that the armed robbery did not affect the operations at the restaurant or the park.

Al Ghamdi said that he was shocked by the attack, saying that it was a highly unusual incident in Saudi Arabia.

He expressed confidence in the ability of the security authorities to arrest the attackers.