Body of Indian boy swept away in UAE found in Oman

The body of the Indian teenager who was swept away in flashfloods in Sharjah, UAE, recently was found in Musandam on Wednesday.

A rescue team from the Public Authority for Civil Defence (PACDA) in Musandam found the body.

PACDA and the Indian Embassy in Muscat confirmed the body of Albert Joy, 18, a student of Birla Institute of Technology, UAE. The body has been sent to the UAE.

The Royal Oman Police (ROP) and UAE police forces had been carrying out search operations since last Thursday, when he was washed away in flashfloods while trying to cross the Wadi Sheis in Sharjah. Rescue choppers had been deployed to find him.

He was travelling with five of his friends on a 4x4 when the vehicle was trapped in the floods triggered by rain. UAE media reports said an Emirati passerby managed to rescue five of the passengers after hearing screams from them.

“Some were standing on the roof of the car, while others were inside. They didn’t expect water currents to be so strong,” said Khalifa al Naqbi, who spearheaded the rescue operations.

“We tried to use a rope to rescue them but it was short, so we tried to calm them down. While five of them managed to come out, the driver refused to leave as the car belonged to his father,” he said.

Hailing from Ernakulam district in Kerala, India, the family of Albert Joy has been living in Ras Al Khaimah for several years. The deceased is survived by his parents and a sister.