Abu Dhabi jet-skier stranded for 5 hours amid huge waves, past midnight…

A search and rescue airplane of the Abu Dhabi Police Air Wing Department, saved a citizen who had fallen from his jet ski into open water after colliding with forceful waves.

At 11pm on Sunday, the Air Wing operations received a call from the central operations room with regards to a man who had been yelling for help in open water.

At the time, the sea was rough and with a low visibility of 1,000 metres.

The first jet ski malfunctioned due to high waves and AS, 34-years-old, fell off the ski.

Unfortunately, due to the bad weather conditions, the search and rescue aircraft could not immediately respond after receiving the call.

The search and rescue airplane was able to take-off shortly after midnight, when weather conditions improved slightly.

Reaching the designated coordinates, 18 nautical miles west of Abu Dhabi, the specialised search and rescue team carried out their operation using night-vision goggles and thermal imaging.

The mission was arduous due to strong winds, high waves and low visibility.

The plane had to go back to land in order to refuel, and took-off again to search the same location for a second time.

Both search missions took approximately five hours.

Entering the third search, the coordinates were located in the middle of the sea, at 30 nautical miles west of Abu Dhabi.

Upon reaching the location, the search continued for 50 minutes more, until the team found someone floating in a life jacket.

The team immediately rescued the man.

15 hours at sea

Meanwhile, at another location, the coastguard was carrying out a second rescue mission. After spending more than 15 hours at sea, the two men are in stable condition, but need medical care.

Brigadier Pilot Ali Mohammed Al Mazroui, called upon sea goers to check weather forecasts in advance and to also inform the concerned authorities of the expected departure and arrival times to and from their destination. He also urged everyone to make sure they have the means for safety and security, such as life jackets, a GPS device, and a communication device that can call to initiate search and rescue operations in the event of any emergency.

Citizen saved

Abdulaziz Al Kaabi hailed the efforts of Abu Dhabi Police in preserving the lives of citizens and residents.

He thanked the crew who rescued him in record time after finding him, and for the care he received while being transported to Sheikh Khalifa Medical City to receive treatment.

“When I saw the Abu Dhabi Police airplane, I felt an overwhelming happiness and joy,” he said.

Al Kaabi explained that his jet ski had tipped over after colliding with high waves.

At 9pm on Sunday, he had tried to mount his friend’s jet ski but fell again due to the high waves and was stranded at sea until 3am, Monday.

Because his mobile was broken, he pointed out that his friend called the Abu Dhabi Police to ask for help.

He also said that his health is improving thanks to the care he received by the medical staff of Khalifa Medical City.

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