'Hero' Dubai couple saves helpless camel from quicksand

An expat couple in Dubai have been hailed as heroes for saving a camel from quicksand while travelling through the desert, Emirati outlet The National reported.

Irish nationals Ian Murphy and Christine Wilson were on their way to Ras Al Khaimah last month when they spotted the friendly desert animal struggling to escape from quicksand.

“I looked over at the side of the road and saw what appeared to be a camel’s head sticking out of the ground,” Murphy, 39, told The National. “We didn’t know what had happened at first but it was obvious the poor animal was in a lot of distress.

“There weren’t any camel tracks around and it looked like it had been trapped there for some time.”

Footage shared by the couple online showed the camel's four legs completely buried in the sand.

Unable to remain idle, the two quickly moved to save the camel using a shovel they found in the boot of their car before a group of locals noticed and joined the rescue mission. Soon enough, some 15 people were invested in helping the animal.

Murphy said it took two hours to free the camel, noting its two front feet had been tied together. “It was made a little trickier because the camel understandably kept wriggling but it didn’t have full use of its front legs,” Murphy told The National.

When it was finally freed, the camel was unable to stand independently for a few minutes but then regained movement of its legs, the video showed.

For the owners, the voluntary effort of Murphy and Wilson was deserving of a reward. “They tried to give us a small goat and two birds,” said Ms Wilson, 37.

“Obviously we couldn’t accept them but they didn’t want us to go away empty-handed — they couldn’t have been happier to see the camel rescued,” she told the local daily.

The inhabitants of the Arabian peninsula began to domesticate camels more than 3,000 years ago. The animals are known for their ability to withstand the harshest of drought and hot conditions in desert lands - among the most arid areas on the face of the earth.