Air wing unit is police eyes and ears

With 24/7 patrols by land, sea and air, police have got the whole emirate covered. However, one thing is for sure, Dubai Police's air wing sees events unfold from a wholly different perspective.

The National was invited to join an air patrol this week, from where the emirate that is home to more than two million people looked like a scene out of a Hollywood movie, with bustling roads, gleaming skyscrapers and beachgoers trying to catch some afternoon sun.

Air patrols allow police to cover the areas that other modes of transport cannot, conducting rescues from building tops to the deepest reaches of the desert.

"It's not only about covering the desert but, from up in the air, we have a much wider vision of the roads, sea and desert. We see things that normal sea and road patrol can't see,” said Brig Pilot Anas Al Matrooshi, director of the Transport and Rescue Department, who escorted us on an AB412 helicopter. "Although costly, the air wing is necessary, and we can say that we have full coverage of the emirate.”

The remit of the air wing extends to conducting searches, rescues, raids and transporting severely injured people to hospital.

Five minutes into our flight, over Global Village, a call came in on the police radio that a person was badly injured in a road incident.

On arrival, vehicle patrols and an ambulance were already at the scene but immediately started to block vehicles on Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road once they spotted us hovering overhead to make room for the helicopter to land.

On this occasion the ambulance already had the incident covered and there was no need for speedier transportation to hospital.

"They saw our helicopter and immediately blocked the road - they are trained to do this,” said Brig Al Matrooshi. "If they needed our assistance we would have landed on the road in front of the accident, even if we are just patrolling.”

Air wing paramedic Mohamad Al Raidy, 40, who has 15 years' experience, said the nature of the job can sometimes be difficult, especially when children are involved.

He recalled a case where two young girls, aged 9 and 12, were severely injured in a quad bike incident in the desert.

"The girls, who were cousins, were on the bikes in the desert with their family when a car ran them over,” he said.

"We were called to the scene to transport them to hospital because a normal ambulance couldn't reach the scene but, as we were heading to hospital, the father of one of the girls was so affected that he had a heart attack and we couldn't go back to get him. We were already too far and had to continue.

"The father had to be transported in a private car to the main road, where an ambulance was waiting, but thankfully all three made a full recovery.”

To deal with such situations, there are always between three or five helicopters on standby and each air patrol consists of two pilots, a paramedic and the same equipment and medication as in an ambulance.

"Being airlifted to the hospital is a faster method of transportation, especially during rush hours,” said Brig Al Matrooshi.

Mr Al Raidy said that he finds himself in the air at least twice a day.

"We are trained to treat people who are in a very critical condition,” he said.

"We continue treating the injured until they reach the hospital, where medical staff are ready and waiting for us to brief them.”
Source: The National