North London Family Forced to Shelter in Dubai Nightclub During Missile Strikes
A woman from Barnet, North London, has revealed the terrifying ordeal of sheltering in an abandoned Dubai nightclub with her three-year-old daughter during recent missile strikes in the Middle East. Ourania Righelato, 32, was among a group of tourists who finally returned to Heathrow Airport on Tuesday after being stranded in the United Arab Emirates.
Desperate Shelter in a Nightclub Basement
Mrs Righelato, traveling with her husband Jay and daughter Annabel, described how her family spent nights in a makeshift shelter set up in the basement of an old nightclub. "We were sleeping in an abandoned nightclub with beds put together and we had a little one with us, our daughter, she's three," she said. "We had no idea when we would come home at all."
The family initially slept on the floor of their hotel before being moved to the nightclub basement, which they believed offered better protection. "We just thought to go to the basement and they had an old room which was safe for us to go into which was an abandoned nightclub," Mrs Righelato explained.
Traumatic Experience for Young Child
The psychological impact on their young daughter has been significant. "When my daughter heard the sirens go off on our phones she was petrified," Mrs Righelato said. "She keeps talking about it, she keeps saying 'that scary noise are we going to have to go back down to the basement?'"
The family was watching mainstream media coverage that left them "petrified" about the escalating situation. "We didn't know when we would come home," Mrs Righelato added. "Our family was watching the mainstream media and they were petrified."
Other Stranded Tourists Return to Heathrow
Emirates flight EK8001 finally arrived at Terminal 3 at 1:08pm on Tuesday after a delayed departure from Dubai. Among the passengers was 12-year-old Ahmad Ali from Swindon, Wiltshire, who spent three nights stranded in Dubai Airport while traveling back from Pakistan.
"It was very terrible for us because he is only 12 years old and he was alone," said his mother Hafsa Ali, who tearfully greeted him at the arrivals gate with father Shamshed Ali and younger sister Noor, 8. "Thanks to Emirates, they looked after my son. I can't express my feelings."
Ahmad described his experience as "so terrible" but acknowledged that Emirates staff "wanted to take care of me." When asked if he was happy to be home, the boy simply said he was "so happy."
Widespread Anxiety Among Stranded Tourists
Other returning passengers shared similar stories of fear and uncertainty. Magda Papadimitriou, 40, from Greece, was stuck in Dubai for five days and described the terror of hearing what sounded like bombs while traveling with young children.
"It was very scary," she said. "Dubai doesn't have shelters, it doesn't have that kind of stuff, they tried to make us feel less worried. The tourists wanted to go but they couldn't find a way."
John Lily, 78, reported hearing "lots of pops and bangs" and seeing a black cloud in front of his hotel. Linda Middleditch, 53, from London, was emotionally greeted with flowers by her two daughters upon her return, saying she felt "just really amazing" to be home.
Mixed Experiences of Safety in Dubai
Fiona Hart, 64, from Northamptonshire, offered a somewhat different perspective: "It is a great relief to be back, but I have to say that, actually, where we were staying in Dubai, it wasn't too bad, and we were quite comfortable."
However, she acknowledged the psychological strain: "But it's unnerving, not knowing what's happening, and when we were going to be able to get back or not."
Omar, a doctor from Pakistan now living in London, was stuck in Dubai for four days and described the situation as "uncertain," particularly when alerts came through in the middle of the night. "When an alert comes in at 2.30 in the morning, it is scary, you know," he said.
The returning tourists expressed overwhelming relief at finally reaching British soil, though many will carry the psychological scars of their experience for some time to come.
