Old news? The story of a Dubai man not letting male rescuers save his daughter may have occurred in 1996

The tragic incident of a 20-year-old woman drowning on a Dubai beach after her father refused to allow rescuers to save her as he did not want her to be touched by a male stranger was widely reported in the news in the last couple of days. However, the story may not be as recent and may have taken place in 1996.

The incident was reported by news website Emirates 24/7  on 9 August. Subsequently it was picked by several media outlets, including Firstpost.

However, a report by The Guardian  pointd out that the story wasn’t ’news’ but was actually almost two decades old. The article states that while the incident did take place, it didn’t take place as recently and was part of an old interview where lifeguards were asked to recount the strangest things that had happened to them.

“They mentioned this case of the Asian man who prevented his daughter’s rescue, but, and here’s the catch – it was from 1996," a source is quoted as saying by  The Guardian .

At the time of writing this, The Mail Online has taken down the story from their site.

Emirates 24/7  had quoted Lt Col Ahmed Burqibah, deputy director of Dubai Police’s Search and Rescue Department as saying that the man took his wife and daughters to a beach for a picnic. His 20-year old daughter had been swimming when she suddenly started drowning and screaming for help. However, according to him, her father did not allow male rescuers present there to save her as he believed that if they touched her, she would be dishonoured.