Hundreds pay their last respects to Al Muhairi

Dubai : Victory Team pilot Mohammad Bin Majid Al Muhairi was laid to rest in the Al Quoz cemetery early yesterday, but it may take a few more days before the body of Jean-Marc Sanchez is flown back to France.

Hundreds of people from all walks of life gathered at the Al Quoz cemetery to pay their final respects to the Emirati driver of the Victory 1 boat, who died on Friday evening along with Sanchez following a high-speed crash off the Mina Seyahi waters during the penultimate round of the UIM/WPPA World Class One Powerboat Championships.

An official from Victory Team said that Sanchez's body will stay in the morgue until all further paperwork is done and the necessary permissions are obtained to take the body back to France for the final rites.

"We expect the formalities to take a couple of days," the Victory Team official said.

Prominent among those who attended Al Muhairi's funeral were Khalfan Hareb, managing director, Victory Team; Saeed Hareb, chairman, WPPA, and managing director of the DIMC; Mohammad Rashid Al Rumaithi, vice-president, UAE Marine Sports Federation; Marco Sala from IOTA; Rashid Belhoul, former chairman, Al Wasl Club, and representatives of the UIM, ADIMSC, Abu Dhabi F1 Team and all other watersports related bodies in the country.

Al Muhairi was marking his first season in Class One racing this year.