Muscat: “I will not leave my brother to drown,” cried out 21-year-old Abdullah Mohammad Mansour Al Daheri before disappearing into the watery depths of the Arabian Sea in an attempt to rescue his 19-year-old brother Mansour on Thursday night.
The two, who had been holidaying with cousins and friends in the southern Omani province of Mirbat, are still missing.
Hopes of finding the two Emirati brothers continued to fade on Saturday as search and rescue operations — using boats, divers and helicopters — entered their second day.
An official from Oman’s Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance (PACDA), told Gulf News the two were feared dead after they were swept out to sea by the extremely strong currents in the area.
“Efforts to rescue them are on but we couldn’t find them as we searched for miles in the area,” the official said.
A distraught cousin, Mohammad Al Daheri, spoke to Gulf News about his ordeal. He and another cousin, Abdullah Al Shamsi, along with the missing siblings, had gone swimming in the rough seas off Dimr coast in Mirbat on Thursday, ignoring public warnings on the dangers of the rough seas.
Mohammad sobbed as he told Gulf News how he saw one of his cousins “drown in front of my eyes,” adding that he narrowly escaped that fate himself.
“I tried to stop Abdullah and Mansour but they didn’t listen to me,” he said. He then saw the waves sweep his cousins further out to sea.
Mohammad said Abdullah refused to let go of his little brother, who was not a good swimmer, after he seeing him struggling to keep his head above water.
According to Mohammad, Abdullah cried out that “I will not leave my brother to drown,” before he too disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“I should have stopped them from swimming. I should go and rescue them,” he said.
Mohammad lauded the efforts of PACDA personnel and local residents who worked day and night searching for the two siblings.
“I want to thank Omani government for their tireless assistance in searching for my cousins,” he said.
The four Emiratis had visited nearby Salalah to escape the heat summer in the UAE. Salalah experiences more moderate temperatures during summer.
The PACDA has warned that rough seas will likely continue until September, cautioning both nationals, residents and tourists in Dhofar governorate against taking to the water in such conditions.
Another three Omanis who were swimming in or around the same spot where the siblings went missing were rescued.
