Sky rained fire for 25 minutes: Indian expat in Qatar recalls witnessing Iran strike

The buzz of Middle East tensions and a stream of online alerts hung heavy in the air on Monday in Qatar. Yet, for most in the country, June 23 was just another working day. Indian expat Prince Tom, who lives in Doha, stepped out that evening to service his vehicle and casually waited at the facility for the job to be done. He was aware of Qatar closing its airspace; Bahrain anticipating some tensions; a few of his expat friends getting a day of work from home; and schools switching to online mode on the day... but he hardly expected anything fiery to play out right in his surroundings. Until he noticed people rushing outside the service centre. 

"It was around 7 or 7.30 pm," Prince recalls. "I noticed people rushing outside, calling out that missiles were flying overhead; we could see them in the sky. I too ran out with them," he says. The sight that awaited him was a 'rain of fire' in the sky, Prince remembers. "I could see the missiles streaming in one after the other from one direction; it was quite a fiery downpour. And from the other side, interceptors were handling them mid-air. We could hear and feel the whole sequence unfolding quite well. It lasted for around 20 to 25 minutes," he says. Only about seven or eight people were around him at the time, all of them staring at the sky. "I could sense that such a moment was a first-time experience for all of us. In that moment, I guess we all got a taste of what a war scare feel like. There was a shared dread among us, gripped by the question, 'What's coming next?'" Prince says. 

But things are returning to normalcy now, Prince says. While social media is flooded with reels of panic-stricken residents rushing out of malls, Prince says the reality isn’t as alarming as it’s made out to be. "I guess in a mall here, someone spread a rumour about a possible bombing and that led to a bit of panic. That's all."

While schools were closed for the day, Prince was heading to work as he spoke to Onmanorama. "At least as per reports, there won't be any reciprocal attacks and the tensions are eased. We hope it's true and want to get on with our regular lives," says Prince. 

Iran’s missile strike targeting the US military base in Qatar is what led to the temporary airspace closure in the country on Monday. After the temporary closure, Qatar reopened its airspace and the flight services have also resumed, even as the Middle East continues to grapple with the Iran-Israel conflict. Many flight services have been delayed and passengers are stuck in various airports. While US President Donald Trump declared a total ceasefire with Iran and Israel, Tehran has dismissed the claim.