Meet the Emirati man who rescued 25 families in his kayak during torrential rains

PHOTO

An Emirati man turned his hobby for kayaking into a rescue mission during the torrential rains. Youssef Al Feel rescued 25 families — including a heavily pregnant women — whose homes were submerged, using his small kayak.

A lover of all things sea and water sports, Youssef hurried to rescue families with his brothers when the valley of his area was flooded.

The first floor of all the homes were under water when Youssef decided to bring out his kayak. This helped him enter the houses and corridors to save a total of 25 families, including children, elderly, and a pregnant woman in her ninth month.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Yousef Al Fail said: "At four in the morning after the valley flooded and entered the area, my brother called me to inform me of a woman seeking help to rescue her brother who couldn't swim and was standing atop his car,” he said. “Luckily, all the equipment was in my house, so we went to rescue him, and the car was completely submerged."

The first thing Yousef thought of was his kayak. Despite its small size and inability to accommodate many people at one time, it was the best solution for the rescue operation at that moment.

"I used the kayak despite the availability of a boat and a jet ski,” he said. “It helped me enter the houses. We helped housemaids, women, children, the elderly, and people with disabilities whom we were trying to calm in that situation, as well as animals and birds."

Yousef, along with his brothers and cousins, managed to break the windows and enter the houses to evacuate people continuously without stopping for a whole day.

Yousef said: "When I entered the area in the early morning, everyone was cheering and applauding me from the windows, I felt an indescribable feeling." He added, "All of us, me, my brothers, the youth, the people, and the residents, we all united and cooperated."

Yousef commented on his volunteering to help people, saying: “We didn't learn this alone, the love of goodness, sacrifice, and giving, we learned it from our leaders, may God protect them and protect the UAE."