Ras Al Khaimah - Ras Al Khaimah Police immediately rushed for help even though the heavy showers flooded the road.
Published: Sun 14 Apr 2019, 8:00 AM
Last updated: Mon 15 Apr 2019, 1:51 AM
After 15 hours of waiting on Jebel Jais, following the flash floods on Saturday, the 300 stranded cars with some 570 people on board were rescued by the Ras Al Khaimah Police early on Sunday.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Major-General Ali Abdullah bin Alwan Al Nuaimi, General Commander of the RAK Police, said 400 people - including families and kids - were transported in police vehicles, and 170 were airlifted via choppers. "Chopper airlifting operations, however, were halted because of the strong winds and bad weather conditions," he said.
Maj-Gen Al Nuaimi added that the rescue operations were conducted in collaboration with the Dubai and the Abu Dhabi Police.
The rescue teams have also opened a sand pathway through one of the mountains and some valleys so that stranded people can pass through, he said.
All the 300 cars remained on the mountain, pulled to the side of the road, sources said. The rescued residents, on the other hand, were taken to a hotel in the emirate.
Saif Ul Hasan, one of the residents, told Khaleej Times that at Press time, none of them could go home yet. "Some people are struggling to cross the flood with police help and rescue teams," he said.
Hasan said they were stranded on top of the highest peak in the country from 3pm on Saturday till 6am on Sunday. "We are very thankful to Khaleej Times for alerting the RAK Police about the situation, especially because among those who were stranded were kids and families."
Almost everybody was out of food and water. It was also getting darker by the hour and they were losing mobile connectivity, he recalled. "The RAK Police comforted us and provided food, drink, water and light for everyone," said Azhar Ahmed, a RAK resident. "We felt secure and taken care of."
Hasan added that none of the two restaurants on the mountain was accessible. "We were stranded in between, we couldn't go up or drive down. We spent the pitch-black night in the cars amid cold winds with no blankets," he said. "But, we were poised and composed."
Mirza Ata, a Dubai resident who was on a visit to Jebel Jais, said the RAK Police, at one point, had no other way but to airlift people "because the road to Jebel Jais was swept away by rainwater".
Hasan said: "Young people helped the families and kids board the three-member-crew rescue chopper first." They were airlifted in batches of 20.
Maj-Gen Al Nuaimi said they were able to get in touch with the stranded people and drivers on top of the mountain and down the valleys across the emirate.
"All the food, water and medical supplies they needed have been secured and provided to them, and they were advised never to leave their sites until rescue teams reach them."
The RAK Police have deployed over 77 traffic and security patrols on all the internal roads and highways of the emirate to attend to emergency reports, he added.
"All the roads leading to the valleys of the emirate were blocked and flooded." The blocked roads spanned Jebel Jais, Wadi Shaam, Wadi Ghalila, and Wadi Al Beeh, he said.
"All police patrols and staffers are ready to attend to all reports," he said, urging the public to report emergency cases via their toll-free hotline 999 and 901.
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com
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