Muscat: Two Emiratis and a six-year-old child were among six people killed when they were swept away by swirling wadi waters in various parts of Oman on Thursday following rains and a thunderstorm, according to a Royal Oman Police (ROP).
Two Omanis, two Pakistanis and two Emiratis were killed.
Army units rescued seven other Emiratis who were stranded in the flooded Tanaam Wadi in Ibri in the Dhahirah region.
The army and police rescue teams continued their search for two other Pakistanis who were swept away in the eastern region of the country.
Search continues
Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) helicopters airlifted three families stranded on the roofs of their houses when they became flooded in Samad Al Shaan in the eastern region. Helicopters also airlifted a sick woman from Rustaq as it was not possible to reach the hospital because of the adverse weather.
About ten people were caught up in two wadis in Sinaw.
Two of the stranded were rescued and a search for the others continued yesterday morning.
"Rescue operations involving the ROP and local residents are going on," a spokesperson for the ROP said.
The police were also called to several other places to rescue people trapped in flooded wadis.
The weather has become sunny after the heavy rains and a thunderstorm in the early hours of Thursday and were dry yesterday morning.
The flash floods sweep down the dry wadis very fast and people are warned not to go into the valleys when it rains.
The regions of southern Dhofar, central Al Wusta and eastern Al Sharqiyah are the regions directly facing the Arabian Sea and receive maximum rainfall.
Hundreds of Emiratis and expatriates travel to Oman on the weekends to enjoy the cooler weather.
