DUBAI // A young British man has died after jumping overboard during a birthday party on a boat off Dubai.
About 60 revellers were aboard the GuGu Boat vessel on Friday when the incident happened.
“I saw a lot of commotion off the side of the boat and members of the group trying to help the guy,” one party guest said. “It seemed like the victim had been underwater for some time because he was evidently unable to swim and there was little consciousness.”
The witness said the man was still breathing but not moving when he was dragged back on to the boat, which holds up to 90 passengers. A member of staff administered CPR as the boat made its way back to land.
“The boat was already heading back to dock later in the afternoon, at about 5pm, and police were already at the scene while paramedics tended to him straight away,” said the guest.
“There was no blood or broken bones and there didn’t seem to be cuts on the man’s head, but he clearly looked like a drowning person.”
The witness said that the Briton was still alive when he was taken to hospital by ambulance.
“The man must have been in his late twenties or early thirties,” he said. “It was a shocking experience for all of us.”
The GuGu Boat, which docks at the yacht club in Dubai Marina, has a glass-bottomed dancefloor and is popular with young tourists and residents.
Sherif Dewidar, of GuGu Boat, said the man jumped while the vessel was returning to dock.
“The captain stopped the boat and turned the engines off immediately,” Mr Dewidar said.
“Two of the man’s friends jumped after him and brought him back on board with the help of our crew. He was not injured or bleeding, which was witnessed by police and paramedics after the boat docked.”
Mr Dewidar said that the boat returned to dock at top speed as he called the ambulance.
He said that all crew members, including himself, had the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping certificate and were trained and certified in first aid and rescue.
The young man was alive but not fully conscious when paramedics took him away, Mr Dewidar said, adding that he administered CPR.
“We have safety equipment on board as per UAE law,” he said. “What we know about the man was that he was invited to attend the birthday party by the client, who hired the boat exclusively for him and his friends.”
A spokeswoman for the British embassy said: “We can confirm the death of a British national in Dubai over the weekend. We are providing consular assistance.”
dmoukhallati@thenational.ae
