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A video authenticated by CNN captures the dramatic moment when what is believed to be rogue missile debris strikes, igniting a fire at the upscale Fairmont Hotel.
Four individuals sustained injuries from the shrapnel.
Visitors in this renowned tourist hotspot witnessed missiles being intercepted overhead. Iran’s retaliatory strikes have thrown travel plans into disarray across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), leading to flight cancellations and significantly reducing air traffic across the Middle East.
Carina Rossi, a senior editor for nine.com.au, is currently staying at Atlantis – The Palm, situated at the far end of the Palm Jumeirah district. She witnessed debris plunging into the hotel pool simultaneously with the Fairmont explosion.
Rossi recounted that she and other hotel guests were gripped by panic, fleeing to the beach as debris rained down in their immediate vicinity.
”The debris didn’t explode, thankfully. But it was a loud bang, something I’d never heard before,” Rossi told nine.com.au.
Her Emirates flight, due to leave Dubai on Saturday, was cancelled.
She and other guests were then woken to an alert which urged them to seek shelter amid imminent missile threats.
“When we got the alert at 12.30 we could instantly hear explosions in the distance,” she said.
Rossi is safe and back at her hotel.
The Australian government has advised travellers to avoid the UAE among a slew of other Middle Eastern countries in the wake of the US-Israel joint strike on Iran.
Debris from an intercepted drone has also damaged the Burj Al Arab, a famous seven-star hotel in Dubai.
Debris caused a minor fire on the hotel’s outer facade, Dubai’s Media Office confirmed in a post on X.”
Civil Defence teams responded immediately and brought the incident under control,” the spokesperson said.
“No injuries have been reported.”
The US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on Saturday.
Iran has retaliated with an unprecedented wave of strikes across the Middle East, targeting several nearby countries that host US military bases, as well as Israel.
When the US and Israel last struck Iran in June, they targeted its stockpile of ballistic missiles, hampering its ability to retaliate.
Iran could be trying to make use of its arsenal while it still has it.
As well as the UAE, blasts have also been reported in Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain, as well as in Iran’s key regional rival, Saudi Arabia, which vowed to take “all necessary measures” to defend itself.
A drone strike caused damage and minor injuries at Kuwait International Airport.
Qatar and Jordan intercepted missiles targeting their countries.
One person was reportedly killed by falling debris after air defences intercepted missiles targeting sites in Abu Dhabi.
The clashes have also disrupted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz – a crucial shipping route located between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
The US hasn’t suffered any combat-related casualties in its operation against Iran and damage to US military installations has been minimal, US Central Command said in a statement.
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