A Nepali national killed in an Iranian drone attack in the United Arab Emirates has been identified as 29-year-old Diwas Shrestha of Bhimsen Thapa Rural Municipality-7 in Gorkha district, according to the Nepali Embassy in Abu Dhabi.
The embassy confirmed that Diwas died during an incident that occurred while drones were being neutralised at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi. The confirmation came after the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially informed Nepal about the death.
Diwas had been working as a security guard through a Middle East-based company in Dubai. He had returned to the UAE for employment about a year ago after celebrating Dashain with his family in Nepal.
Family members said they were unaware of his death until Monday morning, till the embassy issued the statement. Until then, they had only received vague information suggesting he had been injured amid panic following the attack.
Chama Bahadur Shrestha, father of the victim, said he last spoke to his son through a video call on Saturday evening.
“My son’s friends told us on Sunday that his mobile phone had been lost during the rush and that he was injured in leg while running,” he said. “Since we could not reach him afterwards, we were anxious, but we never imagined such news.”
The deceased’s hometown is in grief.
Narayan Shrestha, ward chair of Bhimsen Thapa-7, the victim’s hometown, said Diwas had been preparing to marry during his next visit home.
“He had returned after Dashain last year, and the family had planned his marriage during his upcoming leave,” he said. “It is heartbreaking that we had to hear such tragic news instead.”
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