Video: 20 people rescued from bus swept away by flooding in Hatta, Dubai
Incident follows the death of four people at Wadi Al Helo on Tuesday
Dubai: Dubai Police rescued 20 people who were trapped in a bus as it was swept away by flash flooding in Hatta Valley, an official said on Wednesday.
Colonel Mubarak Al Ketby, Director of Hatta Police Station, said that the command room at Dubai Police received an emergency call at 7:20pm on Tuesday, regarding 20 people trapped in a bus in Hatta as the driver couldn’t continue his trip due to rainfall.
One passenger suffered minor injuries.
Dubai Police rescued all 20 passengers and the driver.
“The bus driver took the passengers to a nearby high area waiting for the rescue. One of them suffered minor injuries,” said Col Al Ketby.
Rescue teams from Dubai Police and Civil Defence, went to the valley but couldn’t reach trapped people, he added.
“Patrols couldn’t reach them as it was a narrow, hard road in the valley. There were rockets blocking the road. We thought of alternative ways to rescue them,” he added.
A 4x4 police buggy was instead used to enter the valley and reach the people at the mountain peak.
Warrant officer Class 1 Ahmad Tarish, drove the buggy with two members of Dubai Civil Defence, and rescued the trapped people.
“The rescue operation was dangerous and hard as it was hard to see at night and the road was too hard. Water piled into the valley and it was hard to drive the buggy. I drove safely and slowly until I reached them. I put the injured person in the buggy and asked the rest to follow my path closely to reach the patrols,” said Warrant Officer Class 1 Tarish.
The two members of Civil Defence helped the people to follow the buggy until they reached the rest of the patrols and were treated by paramedics from Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services.