Echo of the explosion at Dubai Airport: PV Sindhu and coach trapped, now safe, but flights halted

Dubai: Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu on Sunday described the situation at Dubai airport as ‘tense and scary’ as an explosion occurred near where she and her coach were staying. In a post on social media, Sindhu said the situation was ‘getting scarier every hour’.

Sindhu is scheduled to participate in the All England Open Badminton Championship starting from March 3 and has been stuck at Dubai airport since Saturday with her Indonesian coach Erwansyah Adi Pratama.

Sindhu wrote on ‘X’, “A few hours ago there was an explosion near the airport where we were staying. My coach had to quickly flee the scene as he was closest to the smoke and debris. “It was a very stressful and scary moment for all of us.”
However, former world champion Sindhu confirmed that she and her support staff are safe and have been taken to a safe place. “We are all safe now and have been moved to a more secure location thanks to the continuous efforts of Dubai Airports staff and Dubai authorities,” he said.

Sindhu also thanked the Consul General of India in Dubai for the help in this difficult time. “Special thanks also to the Indian High Commission in Dubai for their support and continued help in keeping us safe,” she said. The 2019 world champion did not give further details about the blast but said she was trying to rest while waiting for the situation to settle down.

Sindhu wrote, “For now we are trying to take some rest and remain hopeful as we wait for things to fall into place.” Sindhu is one of India’s most decorated badminton players who won silver at the Rio Olympics 2016 and bronze at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Apart from this, he has also won many medals in the World Championships.

America and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday in which US President Donald Trump appealed to the Iranian people to overthrow the Islamic leadership ruling the country since 1979. The military strikes have led to the closure of airspace over the Gulf region and disruption of several flights, including those of Emirates and Air India.

Air India has canceled all its flights to and from the Gulf region, especially to Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Muscat, Riyadh and Tel Aviv. Dubai Airport has suspended all operations indefinitely due to the closure of airspace following missile attacks on the US, Israel and Iran.