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Sailor missing in Dubai: UK

A British sailor has gone missing in Dubai, forcing his ship to leave the emirate without him, the Royal Navy said on Friday as his family issued a plea for information on his whereabouts.

British diplomats and local authorities have launched a hunt for leading seaman Timothy Andrew MacColl, 27, after his disappearance earlier this week, a spokesman for the Navy said.

“We can confirm that a member of HMS Westminster’s crew is currently missing in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.

“This has been reported to the local authorities, who are currently treating the incident as a missing person event. Everything is being done to ensure that he is located safely.”

However, Major Ahmed Almerrai, Director of the General Department of Criminal Investigation, told Khaleej Times that the Dubai Police have no information regarding the missing sailor.

“I did not hear about it and so far nobody has lodged a complaint according to my knowledge,” he said.

The missing man’s family said he was last seen by a shipmate getting into a taxi alone in the early hours of Sunday after leaving a bar at a hotel in the Deira area, a 15-minute drive from where his ship was docked.

His wife Rachael, who is expecting their third child in October, said checks with hospitals, prisons, police and mortuaries had failed to turn up any trace of her husband, who had been due to speak to his family on Skype on Sunday.

“We are appealing to the people of Dubai and reaching out to the large expat community to help us find Timmy and raise awareness in that area,” she said.

“It is completely out of character for him not to contact us, and we are completely at a loss and going crazy with worry.

“Wherever Timmy is, I know that he wants to be found... Please, please help us find him.”

Media reports said MacColl was originally from Scotland but is now based in Hampshire in southeast England.

HMS Westminster arrived in Dubai on Saturday and left on Thursday.

The frigate was involved last month in Exercise Arabian Shark, war games conducted with American, Saudi and Pakistani forces in the Gulf of Oman, the Ministry of Defence said.

It has also been involved in anti-piracy and drugs enforcement operations.