By Staff Reporter
Dubai: Dubai Police traced and rescued a woman in critical condition after an emergency call from Australia raised concerns for her safety, with a recent photograph and the help of a building security guard proving crucial in locating her.
The woman was found in an apartment in Dubai after police failed to reach her by phone and initially found no one at the location identified through her mobile phone.
The incident was later documented in the book Operations Management: The Art of Critical Notifications, Crises, and Disasters by Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chairman of Police and Public Security in Dubai.
Under the title “Request for Assistance from Australia”, the incident highlighted how Dubai Police’s Command and Control Centre can respond to emergencies even when the initial alert comes from outside the UAE, using technology, available records and information from relatives and people on the ground.
The operation began when an Australian expatriate living in Dubai received an urgent call from a colleague in Australia about a female relative in Dubai who was believed to be at risk.
The caller told the Dubai resident that the woman had said during their last conversation that she was in a very poor emotional state and feared she might harm herself. Her family was particularly worried because she had previously attempted self-harm twice — once in Australia and once in Dubai.
The Dubai resident immediately contacted the Dubai Police Command and Control Centre and provided officers with details about the woman and herself.
Police tried to contact the woman by phone, but she did not answer. Officers then used available information to trace her phone and sent a police patrol and ambulance to the identified location.
When the emergency teams arrived, however, they could not find her.
Police then contacted the woman’s father in Australia. He provided an address where she had lived about a year earlier and said she might have returned there. He also repeated his concerns about her safety.
A review of previous records did not immediately establish her whereabouts. The duty officer then asked the father to send recent photographs of his daughter through a messaging application.
The photographs were circulated among patrol supervisors and officers in the area, giving them a visual reference to help identify her.
The search took a decisive turn when a security guard at one of the buildings recognised the woman from the photographs. He told police that she was living in the building with a roommate.
Police and an ambulance crew immediately went to the apartment, where they found the woman in critical condition after she had allegedly taken a large quantity of pills in an attempt to end her life.
Emergency personnel administered first aid before transferring her to Rashid hospital for urgent medical treatment. Doctors managed to save her life.
Once her condition stabilised, Dubai Police contacted her father in Australia and informed him that she was safe and receiving treatment.
The case also demonstrated the importance of accurate information and recent photographs when reporting an emergency. Such details can help police identify people quickly and coordinate a response across multiple teams.
The operation further showed how the Command and Control Centre can bring together technology, police resources, family information and assistance from people at the scene to respond to a person in distress, even when the first warning comes from thousands of kilometres away.
