Which number do you call in the UAE?
Call 999. It’s the police line, and it’s the number to use when you’re not sure. If you don’t know which service you need, 999 gets you through and they pass you to an ambulance or to fire and rescue. If you already know it’s medical, dial 998 direct. If something is burning or someone is trapped, dial 997.
| What’s happening | Number | Who answers |
|---|---|---|
| Not sure, an accident, danger, anything unclear | 999 | Police. They redirect to ambulance or fire as needed |
| Heat stroke, serious injury, unconsciousness, chest pain | 998 | Ambulance |
| Vehicle fire, someone trapped | 997 | Civil Defence (fire / rescue) |
Those are the same three numbers on the OffroadPal SOS screen, so you don’t have to remember them under pressure. Learn them anyway. The moment you need them is the moment you won’t want to be scrolling.
What if you’ve crossed into Oman or Saudi Arabia?
Then the numbers change. A desert track near Al Ain, Hatta or the Empty Quarter can take you over a border with no sign, no fence and nothing else to tell you. Sort this out before you set off, not while someone is hurt.
| Country | Call | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| UAE | 999 / 998 / 997 | Police / ambulance / Civil Defence |
| Oman | 9999 | One unified number for police, fire and ambulance. From a mobile, 112 also works. |
| Saudi Arabia | 911 | The unified line. Call it first. Separate numbers also exist: 999 police, 997 ambulance. |
Read that table twice and you’ll see the problem: the same three digits don’t mean the same thing on both sides of a border. 997 is Civil Defence in the UAE and the ambulance line in Saudi Arabia. That’s why you need to know which country you’re actually in. The OffroadPal SOS screen lists all three countries. Dial the one for where you’re standing.
When is it actually an emergency call?
When there’s danger to life, or you’re genuinely stranded with no way out. Specifically:
- Heat-stroke signs. Hot, dry skin (the sweating has stopped), confusion, collapse. This is life-threatening. Call 998 immediately and cool the person aggressively while you wait.
- Anyone seriously injured, after a rollover, a recovery accident, or a fall.
- Genuinely stranded. Out of fuel, broken down, or stuck with no convoy and no way to recover yourself. It gets urgent fast in heat, and once the light starts to go.
- A vehicle fire you can’t safely put out. Get everyone clear first, then call 997.
A simple stuck with your group around you is not an emergency call. That’s what your recovery kit is for. Emergency numbers are for danger to life, or for being truly stranded.
What do you tell the operator?
Location first. It matters more than everything else put together. Work through it in this order:
- Where you are. Read out GPS coordinates if you have them. The app shows your position. If you don’t have them, give the nearest named area or spot, the road you came off, how far you drove and in which direction, and any landmark you can see.
- What’s wrong: medical, accident, fire or stranded. Say how many people are affected.
- The casualty’s condition, if someone is hurt. Conscious or not, breathing or not, what happened.
- Your vehicle: make, model and colour. Rescuers usually spot the car before they spot people.
- A callback number, in case the line drops.
- Stay on the line until they tell you that you can hang up, and do what they ask while help is on the way.
If you don’t speak Arabic, say so early and ask for English. Don’t lose time trying.
What do you do after you hang up?
Stay with your vehicle. A 4x4 is far more visible than a person, it gives you shade, and it’s what rescuers are looking for. Then make yourself easier to find:
- Raise the sand flag. It’s tall and it moves. That’s the point of it.
- Use the horn in short bursts if you hear an engine or voices.
- Hazards on, lights on once it’s dark.
- Send the in-app SOS if you have any signal at all. It shares your live location and alerts your convoy. Your convoy may reach you before anyone official does.
What if you can’t get through at all?
Move to higher ground and try again. A dune crest is often the difference between no bars and one. Three things worth doing, in this order:
- Try an SMS. A text sometimes gets out on a signal too weak to hold a voice call.
- Try the call again from the crest, then go straight back to the car. Don’t wander around looking for signal. That’s how people get separated from the one thing rescuers can see.
- Rely on your trip plan. If you told someone where you were going and when you’d be back, help starts moving once you’re overdue, whether or not you ever got a call out. That’s why you leave one with someone before you go.
The one thing to remember
Know the number for the country you’re in, give the location before anything else, and stay with the car. Everything else is detail.