Ahmad and Nora have a hobby you won’t particularly find couples sharing: pulling complete strangers out of catastrophic driving decisions. When Ahmad and Nora began off-roading, they had no intention of being Dubai’s unofficial designated emergency response team. All they wanted was to go on an adventure, and there was no way for them to drive by someone stuck in the sand without helping them. "At first, we went out just on the weekends, but if we saw a car that was buried tire-deep in sand we made an effort to stop and help,” Nora tells SceneNowUAE. "Eventually it became a natural thing for us to do." However, things changed in April 2024 when massive flooding turned the streets of Dubai into rivers. For three straight days, Ahmad and Nora became the UAE's most exhausted lifeline, yanking submerged vehicles from underwater parking lots and ferrying stranded families to dry ground. They were able to recover dozens of cars and this is exactly when they realized this will no longer be a hobby but a new business venture under the name 'BlueRex Offroad Rescue.'
Currently, Ahmad and Nora average between eight and twelve rescues every week; on holiday weekends their numbers can grow to as many as thirty rescues in a single night. Ahmad runs operations and Nora manages finance for a French-based company; however, as soon as a rescue call comes in they stop what they are doing and go to the rescue mission regardless of whether they have to run off to save someone's car on soft desert sand at 2 AM or help save a vehicle that's sinking into the tide at Ghantoot Beach.
The couple drive a RAM Truck with all the necessary equipment needed for a mobile command centre: lifted suspension, a 30-meter winch with a five-and-a-half ton loading capacity, floodlights, recovery straps, GPS, radios, and a variety of other items in an emergency kit.
"Small things matter: a flashlight, a bottle of water, or a calm voice can make a world of difference to someone in distress,” Ahmad shares. The process of performing rescues is systematic and very diligent. First, Ahmad and Nora examine the situation. Next, they develop a strategy for recovering the vehicle. After that they execute their plan, then they inspect the vehicle post-rescue. Lastly, they log and review all of the information gained from the event before moving on to the next. One of the more intense rescues that Ahmad and Nora conducted involved a vehicle that was being drawn into the ocean by the tide. The rescue effort took nearly three hours and by the end of the third hour they were exhausted, wet and mentally drained. However, they were able to rescue the owner and the vehicle. When they saw the owner’s expression, they knew that it was worth the effort. “The gratitude we get isn’t just for pulling a car out. It’s for showing up when no one else could," Nora recounts. Three main things motivate Ahmad and Nora to keep going: compassion for those around them, a preparedness to meet any situation, and creating and developing a dependable reputation among those individuals assisted.
"People know they can count on us. We take pride in fulfilling that trust," Ahmad shares. The couple's mission is more than retrieving vehicles; it is about creating a sense of community through helping others as well as developing mutual trust and compassion among one another. "During the flood, we saw a lot of people step up in many different capacities. Our hope is that we can foster that sense of community beyond the flood." In the future, they’d like to continue to expand beyond rescuing people. Ultimately, the goal is to partner with government officials to establish a more formal structure of support and assistance during off-road and flood emergencies. Additionally, creating educational programmes about driving in the desert for newcomers and tourists is in their plan. But for now? They'll keep doing what they do best: showing up when the sand's too soft, the water's too high, and nobody else can. Because someone has to.