Woman sheltered in Dubai hotel basement after air strikes

A woman from Antrim has said she is not sure when she will be able to return home from the United Arab Emirates as fighting in the Middle East continues.

Katy McKinney was visiting Dubai with her husband on a business trip when Israel and the US launched an attack against Iran on Saturday.

Iran responded by firing ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, targeting Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

McKinney said she was safe but described the situation as surreal after her hotel was evacuated and she and the other guests were moved to a basement early on Sunday.

"At quarter past two in the middle of the night, there was an emergency message being blared out throughout the hotel," she told BBC News NI.

"We basically just threw clothes on, grabbed our phones and just headed to the nearest stairs."

Her hotel is near the Fairmont The Palm hotel which was struck by a large explosion.

"We could actually see the smoke coming from that hotel. It definitely heightened our worry," McKinney said.

Guests were able to exit the basement and return to their rooms after a few hours and since then McKinney said she had only been able to hear "banging" in the distance.

"What frightens myself and my husband is what I think has happened with Fairmont," she said.

"The aftermath of a drone or a missile being intercepted. I think that's what happened. So that is in the back of your mind."

The Foreign Office has warned British citizens against all but essential travel to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.

People already there have been advised to shelter.

Flights in and out of airports in Tel Aviv, Dubai, Doha and other international hubs in the region have been suspended.

Dubai International Airport - the world's busiest by passenger traffic - was damaged in an "incident" that injured four staff, according to authorities.

McKinney is due to fly from Dubai to Dublin on Wednesday but said that was "up in the air at the minute".

She added travellers were being updated about flights every 24 hours.

"We're not leaving until Wednesday so we're hoping that maybe it might start to ease off," she said.

"To be honest if this is still going on I don't know if I would want to get on a flight."

In a social media post on Sunday night Stormont's Executive Office encouraged people to follow official advice.

It said the first and deputy first ministers encouraged all British and Irish citizens in the Middle East to register their presence in the area as soon as possible through the portals available at the UK government and Irish government websites.

Conor Duggan, a teacher from Ballygalget, County Down, who lives in Abu Dhabi, was taking part in a GAA tournament at a stadium near Dubai as events started to unfold.

It was after his team's first game, when players started to look through their phones while in the changing rooms, that they became aware of the attack.

"It was quite an eerie feeling," he said.

"Usually in the changing rooms, there's a bit of craic and banter. You could hear a pin drop, everybody's on their phones, just looking."

When the tournament finished and he was making his way back to Abu Dhabi Duggan said he could see some smoke coming from Dubai.

He said he was following advice to stay indoors and had been told teaching would be conducted online until Thursday.

"We're not in like a lockdown, it's not that kind of situation. There still are cars in the road, people still kind of going about normal working life," he said.

"It's a weird feeling like you know you do feel safe because you know these missiles thank god are being stopped in the sky and you're kind of seeing that happening.

"But it is still a strange feeling."

On Sunday US president Donald Trump said combat operations in Iran would continue "until all of our objectives are achieved".