Stranded Dubai tourist runs out of cash; cops help her fly home

Dubai - The Asian tourist extended her gratitude to the police for their "generous and kind help".

The Dubai Police have helped a tourist return safely to her home country after she had been stranded in the UAE due to Covid-19-triggered travel restrictions. A police patrol had spotted the woman who had run out of money and looked fatigued.

Brigadier Abdul Raheem bin Shafi'a, Director of Al Barsha Police Station, said: "As our officers accompanied her to the station, they learned that the Asian woman had come to Dubai on a tourist visa before the outbreak of Covid-19."

When airports around the world closed to contain the spread of the virus, the woman had to stay put in the city with very little money. "When the officers found her, she had already checked out from her hotel as she ran out of money."

The Dubai Police's Victim Support Programme took over the case. "The programme provided her with the moral and physiological support she needed as she was traumatised and under a great deal of stress," Brig Bin Shafi'a added.

After she was discharged from a hospital, the police booked her a hotel room. "The police and our strategic partners provided her with a ticket to fly back home and facilitated her Covid-19 test and travel procedures."

The officer lauded the sensitivity of the policemen who spotted the tourist and offered her timely assistance.

For her part, the Asian tourist extended her gratitude to the police for their "generous and kind help".
reporters@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai