Dubai: Eighty per cent of land rescue operations that Dubai Police’s Search and Rescue Department attends to involve someone trapped in a vehicle following a traffic accident, a Dubai Police official revealed.
Brigadier Anas Al Matroushi, director of the General Directorate of Transport and Rescue, of which the Search and Rescue department is a part, said that in the first nine months of the year, the department conducted 128 land rescue operations that involved 271 victims, as opposed to 105 operations involving 201 victims in the same period last year.
“Saving lives is our top priority in this department and that is why we spare no expense when it comes to saving lives. We are prepared for any unforeseen situation.” Brig Al Matroushi said.
He added that the department is responsible for all kinds of technical rescue operations that happen in Dubai, which includes car accidents, people trapped in elevators or confined spaces, children locked in vehicles or bathrooms, people lost in the desert or at sea, drowning cases and boats or ships that broke down in the sea.
“Our target is that 93 per cent of the time for our land rescue teams to reach the scene of an accident within 12 minutes, however our average response time is usually 7-8 minutes.” He said.
Lt Colonel Juma Ahmad Bin Darwish, Director of the Search and Rescue Department, said that they have had 33 marine rescue operations in the first nine months of 2014, which involved 49 people. Marine rescue include drowning cases.
In 2013, the department carried out 49 marine rescues that involved 62 people.
He said that for Marine rescue their target is to get to drowning cases within six minutes, however the actual response time is much less.
As for off-shore marine rescue, their target response time is 14 minutes if the vessel in distress is within six miles from the shore and 29 minutes if the it is within 12 miles from shore.
“People should always call 999 for any emergency or when they are in need to be rescued”, he noted.
