Dubai: Paramedics rushed to the rescue of 15 students stuck near a flooded valley following heavy rains that lashed different parts of Ajman, the Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services (DCAS) said on Sunday.
The 15 girls from the Sumaya Bint Khayat For Basic and Secondary School were left stranded in a minibus along with the bus supervisor, a paramedic from DCAS said. The bus had been on its way to drop the students back home.
None of the students, aged 7 to 15, sustained any injuries during the rescue operation that required transferring the children into an ambulance car and then to a safe location, said Abu Al Fotooh Amara, a paramedic who was at the scene.
The incident, which took place on March 7, was reported to the operations room at 2pm by the school principal, who called for the rescue of her students after getting to know that the minibus transporting them was surrounded by rising waters that were three to four feet deep.
“The roads were flooded and the minibus was at risk of being swept away into the valley and drowning,” said Amara, who was with three other paramedics during the rescue operation. “We got an emergency call and immediately headed to save the children, who were all terrified.”
Using a wooden plank, the paramedics made a bridge of sorts from the bus to the ambulance, allowing for the transfer of the children one by one to the vehicle as quickly as possible.
“We were very close to the area when the incident was reported and luckily we did not face any challenges while rescuing them. During bad weather conditions, incidents like this happen close to the valley. We’ve had to rescue many people in similar situations,” Amara added.
Shaikha Al Bedwawi, the school principal, who notified the operations room and closely followed up on the rescue until her students were safe, said she had been deeply concerned for her students upon finding out about the situation at first.
“Thankfully my students were rescued without being hurt. As a gesture of appreciation, we handed the four paramedics a certificate of appreciation and that’s the least we can do for these heroes,” she said.
