ABU DHABI, 24 November 2002 — An Asian man who tried to sneak into the United Arab Emirates through the mountainous areas of Ras Al-Khaimah remained trapped in the mountains for four days and got exhausted to the point of near death, the Khaleej Times newspaper reported yesterday quoting the official news agency WAM.
He was rescued by frontier guards with the help of residents in the area. The guards had been informed about the trapped man by another infiltrator they arrested earlier. After a long search using helicopter, the guards found the man on a mountaintop at a height of over 1,200 meters, the paper said.
Efforts of the guards to rescue him with the help of the helicopter failed because of the rugged and difficult terrain.
Eight local people, with an experience in mountain climbing, then came forward offering help.
They climbed close to the place where man was lying exhausted, hungry and thirsty. They dropped a packet of food to help him regain his strength.
The men later dropped a life-line which the infiltrator tied around his waist. The rescuers then started descending the mountain carrying the tired man. They took turns to carry the man on their back for three hours and reached the place where the helicopter was waiting.
The man was later taken to hospital where his condition was stated to be improving, the Times said.
