Real estate agent goes on all-night rescue mission
The scene on the road was surreal. The water kept rising, even submerging the logo on the bonnet of the car at one point. The pregnant woman started panicking and I must admit, fear gripped me too.” Deepak Mohan Real estate agent
In a remarkable display of selflessness and heroism, Deepak Mohan, a real estate agent in Dubai, used his off-roading skills to rescue stranded tourists and residents amid flooding.
Driving his trusty 2000 model Landcruiser through knee and waist-deep waters, he transported several individuals to safety, including a heavily pregnant nurse, a wheelchair-bound woman with her daughter and a visiting Kazakh family, among others. These acts of kindness have not gone unnoticed, with many expressing heartfelt gratitude to Mohan for his selfless deeds.
Mohan, 33, said the chain of events began when he received a distress message on his off-roading group while at home in Al Jaddaf around 8.30pm, following a taxing day at work. “A father and daughter were stranded at the World Trade Center Metro Station for several hours, and I decided to help them,” he recounted. It was the beginning of a mission that would span into the early hours of Wednesday.
Mohan said he was returning from Executive Towers in Business Bay after dropping them around 9.45pm when he received a Whatsapp message about a Kazakh family stuck in Dubai Mall. “It was a couple with a young daughter. They were tourists and in urgent need, so I drove them to their hotel in Mankhool,” Mohan said.
Next was an Indian couple at Emirates Financial Towers who needed to go to Al Safa Street. Mohan then assisted an elderly couple visiting from India whom he spotted in City Walk, attempting to hail a cab. “They wanted to go to the Astoria Hotel in Meena Bazaar and had been waiting for a taxi for hours. The roads were submerged in water but I managed to make it.”
As midnight approached, Mohan admitted he was ready to call it a night when a message popped up on Whatsapp about a heavily pregnant nurse and two other women health workers stuck at a clinic in Al Barsha. “I was exhausted but couldn’t turn a blind eye,” he said. Mohan navigated treacherous waters to escort them to safety in Al Khail around 1.30am. “The scene on the road was surreal. The water kept rising, even submerging the logo on the bonnet of the car at one point. The pregnant woman started panicking and I must admit, fear gripped me too.” Realising the risk, he made the prudent choice to drop the passengers off at an acquaintance’s place in Al Karama.
Mohan said that the last people he assisted were a wheelchairbound woman and her daughter, about whom he was alerted at 2am while he was heading home. “They had arrived at Dubai Airports, Terminal 3 earlier and couldn’t leave because no transportation was available.” The daughter, Tulika Pradeep, later posted on a Whatsapp support group, expressing her gratitude to Mohan. "A big thank you, you are an angel. You helped us in a critical situation where I was stuck at the airport with my senior citizen mom. Thank you so much and God bless you always! You are an amazing driver!”