Cancer patient trapped in Dubai begs to get home

A woman with stage three cancer says she is terrified her health is getting worse as she remains stranded in Dubai.

Linzi Stone, 47, from Plymouth, was meant to start chemotherapy on Friday but has no idea if she will make it back in time because flights across the Gulf have been cancelled for days amid the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Stone, who has been counting down to her treatment date, is among tens of thousands of passengers stranded.

She said: "I have been hassling doctors at Derriford Hospital to start. I thought we would be back on Sunday and now I am worried the cancer will get worse because I have not had chemo in time."

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The family had been on the final day of holiday when a huge explosion shook the sky above their hotel pool on Saturday.

Stone, along with husband Paul, 54, and daughter Summer, 11, are staying in a hotel on The Palm near Jebel Ali Port which was affected by debris from an intercepted missile.

Major Gulf hubs, including Dubai, which usually handles over 1,000 flights a day, remains closed for a fourth day due to the conflict.

"I feel like my health is getting worse and I am in quite a lot of pain and would rather be with doctor," said Stone.

"For me it is really stressful and if something happens to me or I go downhill, what do we do?"

Paul, an estate agent, said: "There was a large explosion above the hotel which was a drone being shot down.

"There was a massive plume of smoke above the hotel and everybody started running into the hotel."

Their Virgin Airways flight is booked for Wednesday morning but they have no idea if the flight will actually take off.

A Virgin spokesperson said the flight was "subject to ongoing assessments and if there are any flight changes, they will receive information".

Stone said he was doing everything he could to keep the family steady. "As long as my family is safe, I am okay, we just want to get home."

Plymouth boxer Callum Dan, 17, is stuck in Bangkok with his father after winning a fight in Thailand.

Callum said he and his dad had been due to fly home through Doha but it was grounded.

"We are kind of making the best of a situation, really."

"The chances are this is going to be pretty much ongoing, so we've just got to monitor it basically, and try to get out on another route."

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