Group is considering renting a car to make a complicated journey to Türkiye. For now, they will spend the night in the parking lot where they are staying.
Catarina Carvalho was on the balcony making videos to send to friends when she was surprised by a flash in the sky. It was Iran’s retaliation, which launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones against several targets in the Middle East, including Dubai.
It is in this emirate that the Portuguese woman is located, who spoke to CNN Portugal when it was early in the morning in the place, where she only arrived the day before.
Unable to contact the Portuguese embassy in the United Arab Emirates and without information from local authorities, Catarina and her friends were at the same time collecting their bags to go down from the 22nd floor where they were to the basement, a safer place in case Iran’s attacks continue.
“We now came to the apartment to pick up our bags and we are now going to the parking lot to sleep there”, he tells CNN Portugal via video call.
In the United Arab Emirates alone, 132 missiles and 195 drones were fired, all of which were shot down by the defense, but whose debris caused damage. This is what happened at the Fairmont The Palm or Burj Al Arab hotels, the latter one of the most iconic buildings in Dubai.
Catarina states that the group is insecure with everything that is happening, especially because the airport also suffered damage after debris fell in an area of the complex.
The worst thing, she explains, is not being able to get in touch with someone responsible to help her: “We are super insecure here. We have people in Portugal trying to [contactar a embaixada]no one answers.”
Furthermore, the same happens when this attempt is made by the group itself directly to Abu Dhabi, where the Portuguese embassy is located in the United Arab Emirates.
“I was recording a video for my friends and the alarm on my cell phone started ringing telling me to evacuate. People have no information”, she laments, guaranteeing that she doesn’t see authorities who can help her.
Faced with this scenario, the group is now thinking of a more drastic solution, which could involve renting a car to leave Dubai and head to Turkey, which involves crossing practically the entire Arabian Peninsula on a journey lasting practically two days through unstable and insecure areas such as Iraq or Syria.
“The alternative we were looking at is to rent a car and go to Türkiye”, he says, explaining that from there they hope to be able to buy a flight that will take them back to Portugal.
