WATCH: Northampton dad-of-two stranded in Dubai hotel films terrifying immediate aftermath of “HUGE” missile strike at nearby airport
A Northampton dad-of-two has filmed the terrifying immediate aftermath of a “HUGE” missile strike at a nearby airport which has left him stranded in a Dubai hotel.
Robert Oxley, from St Crispins, has described watching missile strikes hit Dubai – including the city’s main airport – after being stranded when flights were suspended amid escalating conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran.
The 38-year-old software consultant had been due to fly home to Birmingham at the weekend after a two-week business trip. Instead, he remains stranded in the city after evacuations and airspace closures grounded commercial flights, leaving him watching the strikes from a hotel rooftop overlooking Dubai International Airport.
Speaking to Chronicle and Echo this morning (Monday), Rob said: “I’d fallen asleep and woke up at two in the morning. My phone alarm was going off. It was like one of those national alerts you get back in the UK, but this one only had Arabic, so I had no idea what it said. I looked it up and it said to seek shelter.
"I went back to sleep but when I woke up in the morning… as I came out onto the balcony window – boom – that’s when the airport was hit. That was the moment I really understood the situation I was in.
“My building overlooks Dubai airport, so I can see all the way down onto it and I can see the whole skyline. They hit the airport and there was a big plume of smoke from there.”
Rob recorded the aftermath on his phone and he can be heard saying ‘Jesus Christ’, describing the missile strike as ‘huge’ while shaking and ducking for cover.
Rob continued: “On the other side of me is another airport and they hit that as well, which kind of seems strategic. There was another plume of smoke when they hit something else on the right. I don’t know what that was.
“Yesterday (Sunday) there were some real hits around my building. There were shockwaves from it. Every now and then you hear a bang and it brings it back a little bit.
“I grabbed my stuff in my backpack and went down to the foyer, but strangely everyone’s pretty calm. They’re a bit more used to this than I am, living in Northampton.
“The mood is really calm. No one’s panicking. Everyone’s been very nice.”
Asked how he’s feeling, Rob said: “It’s strangely becoming sort of normal. Nothing has happened for the last few hours, but then you’ll suddenly hear something.”
During our conversation, another explosion went off in the background. Rob said: “There’s another explosion. There’s a loud bang. I’m on the rooftop looking in one direction. I can’t see anything, but there was definitely an explosion somewhere.
“Most of today nothing seemed to have happened. There was something early this morning – you could hear something hit in the distance. That one just now was pretty close.”
On his current situation and a plan of action, Rob said: “My hotel has been booked for another couple of days just to see what’s happening. The airport’s definitely not open today. They said there would be an update, but at the moment no one’s going anywhere.
“In reality I just need to sit tight and wait for Emirates to start flying again. I’ve registered as being out here, but I’ve not been contacted by anyone from back in the UK. I’m assuming if something does happen then maybe I’ll notice it, but I’m not really depending on them.”
“If it gets worse, I’ve thought about renting a car and driving, but where do you go? I could drive 18 hours through the desert to Saudi Arabia, which sounds like a silly move at the moment. Maybe that becomes more viable if it gets worse, but for now staying here feels safer.”
Back home, his partner Elyse, also 38, and their two 12-year-old children are waiting anxiously. Rob said: “They’re definitely worried. The kids don’t really know exactly what’s going on, although my son’s kind of figured it out a little bit. I’m not really relaying anything more than ‘I’ll be home soon’.
“I’ve put family on a WhatsApp group and I just update that so they know I’m okay.”
Rob added: “It wasn’t what I was expecting from a business trip. At the moment, I’m okay. I’ll just keep going. Northampton has never felt so appealing.”
On social media, Northampton south Labour MP Mike Reader said: “My casework team is standing by to support any Northamptonians stranded in the Middle East. For support please email [email protected]. If you or a family member are affected and need support, please contact my office directly.
“You should continue to follow our travel advice for the country you are in and the advice of the local authorities.”