Rescue workers race against time in hunt for missing teenagers

Sharjah: Rescue teams from Sharjah Police and Coast Guards yesterday raced against time to locate two Iraqi boys who went missing at sea on Saturday evening as their parents kept a vigil on the beach side near the Coral Beach Resort.

The two boys have been identified as Hesham, 18, and Esam, 17.

A member of the rescue team speaking to Gulf News said rough weather was posing a problem for the team. "We will not give up and hopefully we will get the boys," he said.

Ali Abid, the father of five sons who runs a business in Dubai but is based in Sharjah, told Gulf News that the incident took place at night. Nine members from the Abid family and friends were camping on the beach when all of a sudden they heard their younger son Mohammad, 13, crying out for help.

"He was in the water and I jumped into the water and pulled him out before it was too late," he said.

A close family friend who spoke to Gulf News said the Abid family had moved to the UAE from Baghdad a year back to lead a peaceful life. "It is scary. One minute the family was together on the beach and the next minute tragedy struck," said the friend. The boys were studying in a private school in Sharjah and according to a school spokesperson they were well-behaved children.