An Italian tourist has died after being struck by a competitor’s vehicle during the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally between Riyadh and Haradh in Saudi Arabia, organisers announced.

The spectator was standing “behind a sand dune” on the rally track when the accident occurred, and died on the transfer by helicopter to hospital, Amaury Sport Organisation (AMO) said in a statement.

Investigations are under way to determine the circumstances of the tragedy, AMO added.

The Dakar Rally started on December 31 on the shores of the Red Sea for more than 8,000km of racing which ends on January 15 in the eastern city of Dammam.

Based in Saudi Arabia for the fourth edition in a row, the rally is raced mostly in desert areas but nevertheless attracts spectators even if in much smaller proportions than when the race was held in Latin America and Africa

Qatari driver Nasser Al-Attiyah’s strategy of playing it safe saw him move a step closer to retaining his Dakar Rally title but Tuesday’s ninth stage was overshadowed by the death of the tourist.

The 358km drive through wadis, canyons and dunes saw Toyata driver Al-Attiyah, 52, finish 11min 8sec adrift of the stage winner, nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb.

However, the pressure further eased on Al-Attiyah as his closest pursuer overnight, the South African driver Henk Lategan, suffered a mechanical problem and lost 40 minutes.

Al-Attiyah holds a lead of 1hr 21min over another Toyota driver, Brazil’s Lucas Moraes, with Loeb a further 19min in arrears.

“Today we did a really good job without any mistakes, without any problems,” said Al-Attiyah, bidding to become the first back to back winner since ‘Mr Dakar’ Stephane Peterhansel in 2016/17.

“We need to take it day by day like this without any problems. We have a big gap now and I hope to finish and to win this Dakar.”