Hundreds of Romanian tourists are currently stranded in Dubai, after the airspace was closed in the context of the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. Among them is the actress Roxana Condurache, who was supposed to return to Romania on Sunday, but her flight was canceled on Saturday.
The actress shared images she took of the moment the five-star Fairmont The Palm hotel was hit by a missile, causing panic in the area.
“I’m here, stuck in Dubai! My flight tomorrow morning has been canceled, the airspace has been closed until March 7th. Something was seen in the sky, rockets. They also hit a 5-star hotel, The Palm Fairmont. It sounded like fireworks in Dubai Marina. I’m very stressed because I can’t go to Noah, my son, who stayed in the country with his father. Plus I don’t know what the situation is here! Restaurants have closed, canceled events. I called the consulate and they told me to stay indoors and register on their website with all the data. We are allowed to go out, they just advised us to stay indoors and not go near known locations.” said Roxana Condurache, for Click.
Following the explosion, tourists and locals in the Dubai Marina area ran for cover. Images captured show the Fairmont The Palm hotel with huge clouds of smoke billowing over the building. Local sources claim that American soldiers were also nearby. So far, four people have been injured, and local authorities are monitoring the situation and managing evacuations.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania recommends Romanians in Dubai and other states affected by tensions in the Middle East to avoid non-essential travel, to comply with the instructions of local authorities and to register in the consular assistance register through the application “Travel Informed.”
The situation remains tense and many tourists are waiting for the resumption of commercial flights to return home safely.
