DUBAI // When the back of the van is opened an array of chunky, shiny hardware appears on a tray that would put any man's toolbox to shame.
"They are very expensive but you can't put a price on a life," says Capt Khalid Ibrahim Mohammed al Hamadi as he shows off Dubai Police Rescue's life-saving equipment.
The rescue team is undergoing training in dealing with major accidents but it already has an impressive capability.
Their vans, four-wheel drives and lorries are constantly on Dubai's roads, attending every type of incident, from breaking into a car to retrieve keys inadvertently locked inside, to the 200-car pile-up in March.
"We are even called out when somebody locks their keys in the car or cars get stuck in the desert. Dubai Police Rescue is a free service and we are here to help," says Major Ahmed Burqibah, who is in charge of 500 men in the rescue division.
"I am very proud of them. They work hard and train just as rigorously. It is a tough job and I like to think of them as the best."
Major Burqibah now has a desk job but is no stranger to rolling up his sleeves and helping to save lives - in Dubai, other emirates and as far afield as Indonesia.
Dubai Police Rescue works with all departments in the Government, including Dubai Civil Defence and the hospitals who send ambulances to accidents and fires.
Dubai also sent teams to help survivors after the tsunami in Indonesia, Pakistan's earthquake in 2005 and the earthquake in the southern Iranian town of Bam in 2004.
"We worked with teams from all over the world, sharing our experience and skills," says Major Burqibah. "In Indonesia after the tsunami I rescued one man when I heard a faint cry. We got listening devices and found him barely alive on a boat. It was a great feeling to know we helped save a life."
The team faces a constant struggle to reduce the death toll on the roads of Dubai, with lorry crashes a particular dread.
"It is never nice to attend an accident, but the worst are when lorries collide," says Major Burqibah.
"In one accident, a lorry was basically wrapped up in two others and no one could get to the driver. A doctor had him on a drip and he was there for four hours before we could get him out of the wall of metal trapping him."
To deal with the city's high concentration of heavy lorries, Capt Hamadi has modified some of the rescue vans by adding ladders and platforms on top so they can get the cutters or "jaws of life" to the cabs. "When a lorry is in an accident, the cab is usually mangled and, because it is so high up, we needed some kind of platform to reach it."
The rest of the fleet of vans is also modified, to hold tools ranging from cutting machines that function as angle grinders and even planks of wood that can be used to reinforce a structure that may be about to collapse.
The land rescue team of 100 is part of a wider network within Dubai Police Rescue, as there are teams for sea operations and also a 44-man special task force.
"They are trained in everything and can do the same job as the other sections," says Maj Burqibah. "They are probably the best trained and can deal with everything including chemical spills and water-based operations. We have a full scuba-diving team too. "
On call 24 hours a day, the teams scramble to accidents within 15 minutes to help the injured.
"On average, it takes 7.8 minutes to attend a scene," he says. "Sometimes it is faster and sometimes it takes a little longer, depending on the location of the accident. It is always go here, but on average we are called out about three times a day to accidents. It is not always the case, as some days we are constantly called out."
Capt Hamadi is based at the police headquarters beside Dubai Airport's Terminal 2 and is on call 24 hours a day, as are his colleagues.
"One night, I got a call to a man in the mountains close to the Omani enclave in Ras al Khaimah," he says. "When we got there, we found he had fallen 15 metres and was bleeding badly. The Omani police were also present and we worked together and evacuated him to Rashid Hospital with the Dubai Air Wings division."
Maj Burqibah was confident his team would respond to the changing demands of the burgeoning city.
"Dubai is growing and the construction brings its own problems, such as fires and workers stranded high up. We are constantly training and learning new tactics and skills. Everything is OK at the moment, but we will expand as Dubai expands and keep helping wherever we are needed.'
@Email:eharnan@thenational.ae
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Leap of Faith
Michael J Mazarr
Public Affairs
Dh67
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Kashima Antlers 3 (Nagaki 49’, Serginho 69’, Abe 84’)
Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
Price, base / as tested From Dh173,775 (base model)
Engine 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo, AWD
Power 249hp at 5,500rpm
Torque 365Nm at 1,300-4,500rpm
Gearbox Nine-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined 7.9L/100km
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
THE%20SPECS
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THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now
HOSTS
T20 WORLD CUP
2024: US and West Indies; 2026: India and Sri Lanka; 2028: Australia and New Zealand; 2030: England, Ireland and Scotland
ODI WORLD CUP
2027: South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; 2031: India and
Bangladesh
CHAMPIONS TROPHY
2025: Pakistan; 2029: India
RESULTS
Light Flyweight (48kg): Alua Balkibekova (KAZ) beat Gulasal Sultonalieva (UZB) by points 4-1.
Flyweight (51kg): Nazym Kyzaibay (KAZ) beat Mary Kom (IND) 3-2.
Bantamweight (54kg): Dina Zholaman (KAZ) beat Sitora Shogdarova (UZB) 3-2.
Featherweight (57kg): Sitora Turdibekova (UZB) beat Vladislava Kukhta (KAZ) 5-0.
Lightweight (60kg): Rimma Volossenko (KAZ) beat Huswatun Hasanah (INA) KO round-1.
Light Welterweight (64kg): Milana Safronova (KAZ) beat Lalbuatsaihi (IND) 3-2.
Welterweight (69kg): Valentina Khalzova (KAZ) beat Navbakhor Khamidova (UZB) 5-0
Middleweight (75kg): Pooja Rani (IND) beat Mavluda Movlonova (UZB) 5-0.
Light Heavyweight (81kg): Farida Sholtay (KAZ) beat Ruzmetova Sokhiba (UZB) 5-0.
Heavyweight (81 kg): Lazzat Kungeibayeva (KAZ) beat Anupama (IND) 3-2.
