Man rescued after 36 hours at sea

A man who was in a fishing boat that capsized in the sea off Messaieed after Wednesday's sandstorm was rescued early yesterday, nearly 36 hours after he fell off the sinking vessel.

The boat began its fishing expedition minutes before the sandstorm that engulfed Qatar at around 9.30pm.

There were 11 young people from different nationalities were on broad and as the boat moved into the sea, high winds carrying avalanches of sand and dust gushed with killing speed.

The boat turned over under and all the men fell into water. Eight began swimming, struggling to reach the shores, while three held on to the boat.

To the good luck of the eight men, a rescue team from the nearby port sensed there was trouble, so it rushed to help them. The eight were eventually rescued the same night.

However, among the trio who clung on to the boat and were later apparently on their own, two were rescued by the port rescue team the following day, on Thursday.

Search operations were still on for the 11th and the last man and he was lucky enough to have survived for 36 hours after the boat sank.

He was rescued before Friday prayers yesterday — that is, a little before noon, reports Al Sharq.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, a number of road accidents took place and among the casualties was a Yemeni man who died after he was hit by a car while trying to cross a road in Al Rayyan.

Media reports suggested that the motorist who hit him was also a Yemeni. Three people were left injured in four car accidents reported the same day.

In the Industrial Area, a water tanker turned over, injuring two people. [The Peninsula]

Photo for illustration, by Arihant Agarwal.