Woman sheltered in Dubai hotel basement after air strikes
A woman from Antrim has said she is not sure when she will be able to return home from the United Arab Emirates as fighting in the Middle East continues.
Katy McKinney was visiting Dubai with her husband on a business trip when Israel and the US launched an attack against Iran on Saturday.
Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, targeting Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
McKinney said she was safe but described the situation as surreal after her hotel was evacuated and she and the other guests were moved to a basement early on Sunday.
“At quarter past two in the middle of the night, there was an emergency message being blared out throughout the hotel,” she told BBC News NI.
“We basically just threw clothes on, grabbed our phones and just headed to the nearest stairs.”
Her hotel is near the Fairmont The Palm hotel which was struck by a large explosion.
“We could actually see the smoke coming from that hotel. It definitely heightened our worry,” McKinney said.
Guests were able to exit the basement and return to their rooms after a few hours and since then McKinney said she had only been able to hear “banging” in the distance.
“What frightens myself and my husband is what I think has happened with Fairmont,” she said.
“The aftermath of a drone or a missile being intercepted. I think that’s what happened. So that is in the back of your mind.”
The Foreign Office has warned British citizens against all but essential travel to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.
People already there have been advised to shelter.
Flights have been diverted or cancelled, with journeys to and from Tel Aviv, Dubai, Doha and other international hubs affected.
Dubai International Airport – the world’s busiest by passenger traffic – was damaged in an “incident” that injured four staff, according to authorities.
McKinney is due to fly from Dubai to Dublin on Wednesday but said that was “up in the air at the minute”.
She added travellers were being updated about flights every 24 hours.
“We’re not leaving until Wednesday so we’re hoping that maybe it might start to ease off,” she said.
“To be honest if this is still going on I don’t know if I would want to get on a flight.”
Graeme McQueen, from Dublin Airport Authority, said they should have had 12 flights between Dublin Airport and Middle Eastern airports – Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi – but they have all been cancelled.
“At the moment, the Middle Eastern carriers are stuck on our runway – we’ve got five planes sitting on the runway since Saturday,” McQueen said.
“Airlines won’t cancel days in advance because they are hopeful that they will be able to fly in the coming days which isn’t great for passengers.”
Conor Duggan, a teacher from Ballygalget, County Down, who lives in Abu Dhabi, was taking part in a GAA tournament at a stadium near Dubai as events started to unfold.
It was after his team’s first game, when players started to look through their phones while in the changing rooms, that they became aware of the attack.
“It was quite an eerie feeling,” he said.
“Usually in the changing rooms, there’s a bit of craic and banter. You could hear a pin drop, everybody’s on their phones, just looking.”
When the tournament finished and he was making his way back to Abu Dhabi Duggan said he could see some smoke coming from Dubai.
He said he was following advice to stay indoors and had been told teaching would be conducted online until Thursday.
“We’re not in like a lockdown, it’s not that kind of situation. There still are cars in the road, people still kind of going about normal working life,” he said.
“It’s a weird feeling like you know you do feel safe because you know these missiles thank god are being stopped in the sky and you’re kind of seeing that happening.
“But it is still a strange feeling.”
‘Very dangerous landscape’
The Deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly, was briefed by UK security advisers about the crisis in the Middle East on Saturday along with the first ministers of Scotland and Wales.
Speaking to Good Morning Ulster, Little-Pengelly urged UK and Irish citizens in the region to register their presence as soon as possible through the UK government and Irish government websites.
“It means that people are giving contact details and they can get information directly to their phones from official outlets,” she said.
Little-Pengelly said it was important to follow official accounts as opposed to “rumours online”.
The UK has agreed to a US request to use British military bases for “defensive” strikes on Iranian missile sites.
She said it was “absolutely right” the UK government played its part “particularly in a defensive way to protect citizens and protect against escalation”.
“Lessons need to be learned from previous experiences, I think everyone wants to see peace and stability in the Middle East,” she added.
“The UK must do everything it can to try now to stabilise.”
Sinn Féin assembly member Declan Kearney said what happened at the weekend had been “deeply destabilising” and had “now moved our entire world system into a very, very dangerous landscape”.
“What we need at this immediate point in time is a de-escalation of tensions, this situation is now beginning to spiral out of control,” he said.
“All sides must desist from further military action and there must be a return to political dialogue.”
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