Rescue team puts their training to good use

Dubai: A man with a broken leg was plucked off a mountain by police - just a day after the policemen had finished a course in how to rescue people.

Tim Lorenti, 48, speaking from his hospital bed, has praised the "brilliant" police rescue effort following the incident on Friday.

The Briton was walking in a mountain in Oman close to Hatta when he fell about 15 metres when the ledge he was standing on broke.

Along with Omani policemen and Dubai Police based in Hatta, a seven-man specialist rescue team from Dubai used their training to bring Lorenti to safety.

"I have the ultimate praise for those guys. They were absolutely brilliant. If it wasn't for the rescue guys, I wouldn't be here," Lorenti said.

Stranded

Lorenti's 18-year-old daughter Georgia raised the alarm after 3pm accident, which left Lorenti with a bone sticking out of his right leg. A Dubai Police helicopter was unable to land close to where Lorenti was stranded, so the mountain rescue team was brought in.

He was brought down the mountain on a special stretcher, and then driven by ambulance before being taken by the helicopter to Rashid Hospital, where he arrived at about 1am.

Lorenti, who has four children, said the rescue was particularly difficult because the police had to ensure that no pressure was put on the damaged right leg. "They created a sling for my leg, and then they put me in a big rubber folded mattress. It was like a cocoon," said the Dubai resident.

About 40 Dubai Police staff underwent technical rope rescue training in Dubai in September, and then last week in Canada they completed three weeks of training for rescues in fast-moving water, during which they honed their rope rescue skills.

First Lieutenant Khalid Ebrahim Mohammad, the officer from Dubai Police's Rescue Department who led the rescue, said: "He had broken his leg very badly so he couldn't come down on his own and he was bleeding badly as well.

"It was a very high mountain but we brought him down using our rope techniques. He was very happy."

John Falchetto, Training Director of Ras Al Khaimah-based Traks Pro, spent two weeks training staff from Dubai Police in September, and then also took part in the fast-moving water training in Canada.