Dubai air wing has more than 250 missions in first three months of year

Helicopters come to the rescue in 27 cases where people are severely injured and required speedy transport to hospital.

DUBAI // The air wing was called into action more than 250 times in the first quarter of this year.

Of the 252 missions carried out, 27 involved taking seriously injured people to hospital.

Seven of those cases involved crashes on Sheikh Zayed Road and six were on Mohammed bin Zayed Road, making them the most high-risk motorways in Dubai.

The bulk of the rest, 131, were general patrols, of which 74 were during the day while 57 were at night, said Brig Anas Al Matroushi, director of the transport and rescue department.

“We also have helicopters that are more sophisticated than others and can transport patients from one hospital to another,” he said of eight such missions in the first three months of the year. Also in the first quarter, 17 search-and-rescue missions were conducted.

Brig Al Matroushi said that air patrol units had at least seven routes that vary depending on the time of the year.

“We conduct [up to] three patrols per day – one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one at night, all of which are prepared for any emergency,” he said.

“In winter, we tend to take more routes over the desert, where people go, and, in the summer, we tend to do more beach routes.”

Air wing helicopters are equipped with cameras that provide the police operations room with a live feed, which helps with rapid decision-making in emergency situations.

The air wing’s goal is to reach the scene of an incident 40 kilometres away within 15 minutes, or 30 minutes if it is more than 40km, targets that the department always hits, said Brig Al Matroushi.