Police in Qatar were able to reunite a three-year-old with her family following a 10-hour search and rescue operation in the desert. The girl was reported missing after her family, along with a few other families, ventured outdoors for a fun outing in the Shemal district.
The trip — from 8pm to 5am — turned out to be singularly harrowing for the Arab expatriate family who had joined other families for an evening outing in the Gashamiya desert area.
According to Qatari media, the child's father had left his family with the other families, ensured all camping arrangements were in place, and returned to Doha. However, when he reached Doha, he was told that his daughter, Lamays, had gone missing. His brother assured him that the police had been informed and a search initiated.
The Ministry of Interior officials pressed into service 40 search vehicles carrying a range of equipment that included generators and diving gear amid concerns that the child may have slipped into one of the wells in the area. Local residents joined the search.
Rescuers eventually found the girl in the early hours near a farmhouse close to the Shemal highway, around 2,500 metres from the place where the family had camped. "God has saved the child," the child's father said. "And I am grateful to the authorities for rescuing my daughter."
Follow us on our social media channels:
@ILQlive
@ILQlive
@ILoveQtr
ILoveQatar
