Britons hurt in Yemeni shooting

Two Britons have been seriously injured after a security guard opened fire on a group of employees of an international oil company in Yemen.

The incident took place at the Occidental Petroleum Corp in the Shabwa province, about 500km (300 miles) south of the capital, Sanaa.

An Indian man was killed and an American, a Tunisian and a Yemeni man were also hurt, officials said.

The guard, named as Jamil Mohammed al-Raai, was arrested at the scene.

He is reported to have psychological problems.

A Foreign Office spokesman said the two Britons were receiving medical treatment but the seriousness of their injuries was not yet clear.

"It appears to have been a dispute centred around an aircraft being used by an oil company," he added.

Embassy confirmation

A security official in Yemen said the group was leaving a plane at the oil company's airstrip when the guard opened fire.

The wounded, who have not been named, were taken to hospital in the capital.

The US Embassy in Sanaa confirmed in a message on its website that an American had been "critically injured" in the incident.

Occidental Petroleum Corp is a California-based international company with oil and gas operations in three core areas - the United States, Latin America and the Middle East, including Yemen.

The country is an independent oil producer and pumps about 450,000 barrels per day.