A soldier who was injured when a UAE Armed Forces helicopter crashed in Yemen has thanked Emiratis for their support and said he is recovering well in hospital.
Rashid Al Balushi was among seven servicemen on board the aircraft when it came down in Shabwa province last week due to a technical failure.
Four men - Captain Ahmed Khalifa Al Baloushi, First Lieutenant Pilot Jassem Saleh Al Zaabi, Warrant Officer Mohammed Saeed Al Hassani and Warrant Officer Sameer Mohammed Murad Abu Bakr - died in the crash.
Al Balushi and two others, Rashid Al Dhuhoori and Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the grandson of Sheikh Zayed, the country's founding president, are recovering in hospital.
In a widely shared video posted on Twitter, Al Balushi thanked Emiratis for their thoughts and prayers.
البطل راشد البلوشي أحد جنود الإمارات المصابين في حادثة الطائرة يطمئنكم انه بخير ولله الحمد . pic.twitter.com/da7wouDBGR
— يعقوب الريسي (@yaquob_alrayssi) August 19, 2017
“I’m feeling much better, thank God and no need to worry," he said in the video, pictured in a hospital bed, smiling and wearing a neck support.
"Thanks to all of you who asked about me and my health, I’m feeling okay, alhamdulillah."
He performs a brief salute before signing off.
Fellow Twitter users called him "a hero" and offered their best wishes.
Last week, many senior government officials and ministers paid their condolences to the fallen four, and offered prayers to the injured three.
Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of State for Federal Council Affairs, said "may God heal Sheikh Zayed bin Hamdan and Rashid Al Balushi and Rashid Al Dhuhoori. They are our pride."
