Members of a Dubai rugby team on a weekend tour of Bahrain have told of their terrifying ordeal as they were forced to take shelter when Iranian missiles rocked the country.
The 77 players and staff then undertook a gruelling 26-hour road trip back to the UAE.
The Barrelhouse Rugby Club flew into Manama on Friday – a day before the regional conflict erupted – with matches due to be played by adult and youth teams against Bahrain Rugby Club.
As the first games neared kick-off, air raid sirens sounded across the city, forcing players – 44 of them children – to scatter and shelter in nearby buildings.
Bahrain was targeted by Iran due to the kingdom's heavy US military presence, with about 9,000 personnel.
For 48 hours, players sought cover in their hotel ballroom, as drones and ballistic missiles pounded nearby targets, or were intercepted in mid-air, before they were able to begin their gruelling journey home.
Matt Born, chairman and director of operations at Barrelhouse Rugby Club, tried to keep children and adults safe and calm, while arranging the trip to Dubai.
“Within five minutes of the under 16s going on to the field, the air raid siren went off, which was such a weird experience – it's a very distinctive sound,” he said.
“Bahrain Rugby Club is actually a muster point for a lot of the embassies, so the local opinion was it was actually one of the safest places to be.
“As we were driving on the buses, we could see smoke plumes across the city, and that there had been some definite solid attacks on the US interests in Bahrain.
“We got back to the hotel and by 3pm Emirates had cancelled our return flights for the Sunday morning, so we had to think about how we were going to get out of the country.”
Aerial bombardment
In the first 24 hours of the sustained attack, the Bahrain Defence Force said its air defence systems successfully intercepted and destroyed 61 missiles and 34 drones launched by Iran.
One person was killed and two others were injured after a fire broke out in Salman Industrial City following a missile interception.
As the aerial explosions continued across the Bahraini capital and smoke billowed out from surrounding buildings, some players was advised to shelter in their hotel ballroom overnight, following government advice of avoiding windows and upper floors.
After a restless night at the Diplomat Radisson Blu, the next morning they returned to their rooms to pack, then leave for the Saudi border in four minivans.
With airspace closed across the region due to the attacks, the group rented two coaches to drive the teams from the border back to the UAE over land.
Mr Born was brushing his teeth just after 7.30am on Sunday when he saw a drone slam into the side of the adjacent Crowne Plaza Hotel, a sign the squad needed to move quickly.
As he grabbed a bag and went downstairs to the hotel lobby, he passed several US Navy personnel who had been told to evacuate the country as soon as possible.
“That was a moment of absolute fear, I don't think I've ever dressed as quickly in my life,” said Mr Born, 40, a precious metal derivatives broker who has lived in Dubai for more than 30 years.
“I grabbed my passport and wallet, and ran down the stairs. Every other person who was in the hotel was US military personnel.
“We all evacuated to the underground car park, that was probably the scariest moment because we were in the darkest part of the hotel with these booms and bangs happening everywhere.
“There were military guys with guns, pretty serious rifles and bulletproof vests, walking around, it wasn't a great scene for children. There were definitely high levels of emotion. I remember seeing dads talking to their boys, whispering quiet words of encouragement to them in the dark.”
Journey of 26 hours
The teams set off for the King Fahd Causeway and the border with Saudi Arabia, which took around 30 minutes, to begin their long journey home.
“There was a realisation of how close we were to danger because of these smoke plumes all around us,” said Mr Born. “We drove past an apartment block that had a drone fly into it, and was all burnt and scarred, it was quite scary.”
A seven-hour wait at the border crossing at Saudi Arabia was endured, before the finally hit the long road across the kingdom to the UAE.
It was only then that the group began to feel any kind of reassurance, despite the UAE also coming under heavy attack.
Taylor Hamilton, 35, first-team coach and rugby academy director, said he was emotionally drained after the ordeal.
“In Bahrain, we were in a country that we had no idea where was safe, or where the military bases were that they were targeting,” said Mr Hamilton, from Britain. “We did get amazing advice from the Bahrain Rugby Club and cannot thank them enough.
“The feeling around Bahrain was very tense, there was US military everywhere. It all felt quite surreal, like a movie. Our phones and emergency systems were going off every 20 minutes, so the feeling was extremely unsafe.
“When that explosion went off in the Crowne Plaza, it felt like it was three metres away. When the second drone hit, it was extremely terrifying. All I could do was pick up my passport and run.
“Getting back to Dubai and seeing my own wife and daughter was very emotional,” he added. “I have lived here my whole life, so when we crossed the UAE border it was that immediate feeling of relief that we were safe again.”
