More than 300 people returned to Scotland from Dubai on Wednesday night after witnessing days of destruction amid attacks from Iranian forces, with one woman saying she thought she was a ‘goner’
Scots stranded in Dubai during attacks by Iranian forces have described fearing for their lives before being evacuated home.
Over 300 people arrived back in Scotland from Dubai aboard an Emirates flight on Wednesday evening, having endured days of devastation overseas, with one woman revealing she believed she was a “goner”. Families were overcome with emotion as they reunited with loved ones, whose plane landed at Edinburgh Airport at 8.12pm.
Victoria Cameron, 57, originally from South Africa but now living in Larkhall, is partially deaf and was greeted with flowers from her husband, Brian Cameron. Recalling the first missile strikes on Saturday, she said: “I thought it was a firework. Then we saw the second one, then the third one and we started screaming and the hotel staff said ‘run, run, run’.
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“I was on the phone to my husband, saying ‘we’re under fire’ and they led us away, the phones were going, we were shaking and we were crying. I’m from South Africa, and I’m not scared of anything, we’re used to stuff, but I thought I was a goner on Saturday night.”
Mr Cameron, 59, had been prepared to travel to Dubai by whatever means possible after learning his wife could be in danger. He said: “I’d come up with all sorts of plans to drive there, just to be with her, I didn’t like her being on her own. The relief is just… I can’t put it into words.”
Jack Crowe, 26, the proprietor of Borders Competitions, recalled the initial blasts on Saturday. He recounted: “I think when it first hit for me was, we were on The Palm, and our balcony looked inland, and a jet flew over.
“I ran out to film it and was following the jet, and then there was this massive explosion. I was like, ‘what the hell was that?'”
Holidaymakers Fiona Shearer, 45, and Lynn Buttercase, 49, spoke of feeling “on edge” during the initial onslaught.
Ms Shearer described: “The Saturday was obviously horrendous. We were all really on edge, because you could still hear the explosions in the sky and things. We heard the airport explosion, and then these phone alerts went off.”
Ms Buttercase revealed: “In the basement of our hotel they made bunkers in underground garages, so everyone slept with their clothes on with their grab-bag, passport and had our phones fully charged.”
Ms Shearer added: “For the rest of the time we were there, it was so quickly brought under control. In Dubai, everyone was quite calm over there. We were worried about not being able to get home, but certainly where we were, everybody felt quite calm.”
Kevin MacLean’s family rushed to embrace him as he emerged from the arrivals terminal. Although he was lucky enough to be at a safe distance from the heart of the strikes, he was nonetheless “chuffed to bits” at the sight of his loved ones.
Mr MacLean shared: “I wasn’t quite near it. I was speaking to a couple on the flight who were stuck in a basement in a hotel. In a way I’m quite lucky because we didn’t have to do that.”
When questioned about reuniting with his family, he expressed: “I’m chuffed to bits. You just don’t know how long it’s going to take to actually get back.”
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