UAE flash floods: Truck driver's body found after 5-day search

Ras Al Khaimah - Rescue teams found his body 1.5km away from the reported site.

The body of a cement truck driver, who went missing after he was swept away in the recent flash floods, was discovered after five days of intensive police search. 
The driver was trying to cross the Al Qur Valley during the heavy rains but was washed away by the strong water current, said Lt Col Majid Al Naqbi, chief of the Manei police station. "The truck driver, who was alone, jumped out of the vehicle and tried to reach the land, but couldn't make it." 
Alerted of the accident on October 16, the central operations room dispatched traffic patrols, ambulances, paramedics and rescue teams to the site, he added. 
"The RAK Police had requested help from land and marine search and rescue teams, and K9 or sniffer dogs from the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah to find the missing 53-year-old Arab driver." 
Following five days of search operations, the rescue teams found the driver's body on Saturday (October 20), some 1.5km away from the reported site, 7m deep in the lake of the valley - with the help of staff divers of Sharjah Police. 
Investigations showed that the spot where the driver was swept away was the assembly point of three valleys, police sources said. "The Al Qur Valley, where the water of two other valleys gathers, washed away the truck." 
Two four-wheel drivers were washed away as well, but were luckily rescued in time, they added.
A few days back, torrential rains lashed the mountainous Aasama area, some 15km to the north of Masafi in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah.
The Agili Valley to the south of the emirate also saw heavy downpour, flooding the entire area.
The police warned it is dangerous to venture out in the unstable weather. "It is very risky to go out or drive in the heavy showers, and flooded valleys."
The mountainous valleys are filled with rainwater, they pointed out. "People are urged to avoid the valleys and slippery roads, and contact the central operations room in case of emergency."
ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com

• Ras Al Khaimah