Ruler of Dubai and knight in shining armour.
In the fairytale books, heroes used to ride white horses—but this one was driving a white Mercedes G-Wagen.
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has been lauded for coming to the rescue of a group of friends stuck in Dubai’s sandy desert.
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The Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai helped tow the party’s vehicle, which had become trapped while offroading in dunes outside the city.
“My friend and I got stuck on the desert of Dubai and we got rescued by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid [sic],” Hanna Karen Arroyo revealed on Twitter, alongside a snapshot of the smiling royal with the relieved group.
My friend and I got stuck on the desert of Dubai and we got rescued by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid. pic.twitter.com/k3r7s0z05D
— Hanna Karen Arroyo (@Hannarroyo) March 17, 2018
Arroyo also posted an image of a young Emirati boy helping attach a cable between the group’s vehicle and Sheikh Mohammed’s famous white Mercedes.
This isn’t the first time Dubai’s ruler has come to the aid of those stranded either; in 2016 the royal saved three friends from a 10-kilometre trek back to safety after they were let down by one of their bikes at Al Qudra.
The trio had headed off for a 50km cycle in the desert, Dubai teacher Kayleigh Hutchison told What’s On Dubai last year, armed with three hired bikes, a single bottle of water, and a phone with just 20 per cent of battery left.
As the sun set, Hutchison’s bike chain fell off and became so tangled the group couldn’t fix it.
However out of the darkness a car and several bikes appeared, stopping as soon as the friends flagged them down.
“I heard Brenda say ‘Do I know you?’ to one of the men on the bikes,” the teacher recounted. “I then looked towards her and realised, just as she said: ‘You’re Sheikh Mohammed aren’t you?’”
Hutchinson said the meeting was “a bit of an excited blur”, but remembers asking the ruler of Dubai if he “came here often”.
Sheikh Mohammed, who’s an avid biker, revealed that he does, adding that he enjoys being outside, cycling and running when the weather is cooler.
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The royal was last year also revealed as the mystery benefactor who saved an English chapel for its villagers.
The ruler also frequently donates his money – and personal plane – to worthy causes, as well as pledging aid to help children living in conflict zones.
We imagine it won’t be long before another one of his good deeds goes viral…
Images: Hanna Karen Arroyo/Twitter
