'Never heard before': Dubai hotel damaged in explosion as debris rains down on city

Sunday, 1 March 2026 09:48

Video obtained and verified by CNN shows the moment a projectile, reported to be rogue missile debris, hit the ground in the luxury tourist spot.

Footage shows a drone striking the ground in Dubai's upmarket Palm Jumeirah district as Iran carried out retaliatory attacks in the Middle East, throwing off debris that damaged a luxury hotel and injured multiple people.

Video obtained and verified by CNN shows the moment the projectile, reported to be rogue missile debris, hits the ground and sets the luxury Fairmont Hotel on fire.

Shrapnel injured four people.

LIVE UPDATES: Iran launches retaliatory attacks on US bases, Israel

Tourists across the popular holiday destination watched missiles be shot down in the sky above them, the retaliatory attacks by Iran triggering travel chaos across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with flights cancelled and airspace across the Middle East drastically emptied.

Carina Rossi, a senior editor at nine.com.au, is staying at Atlantis - The Palm, located at the tip of the Palm Jumeirah district, and saw debris falling into the hotel pool about the same time as the explosion near the Fairmont.

Rossi said she and other hotel guests "panicked" and ran to the beach after seeing debris fall from the sky right in front of them.

"The debris didn't explode, thankfully. But it was a loud bang, something I'd never heard before," Rossi told nine.com.au.

Her Emirates flight, due to leave Dubai on Saturday, was cancelled.

She and other guests were then woken to an alert which urged them to seek shelter amid imminent missile threats.

"When we got the alert at 12.30 we could instantly hear explosions in the distance," she said.

Rossi is safe and back at her hotel.

The Australian government has advised travellers to avoid the UAE among a slew of other Middle Eastern countries in the wake of the US-Israel joint strike on Iran.

Text sent to Dubai residents amid strikes

How has Iran responded?

The US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on Saturday.

Iran has retaliated with an unprecedented wave of strikes across the Middle East, targeting several nearby countries that host US military bases, as well as Israel.

When the US and Israel last struck Iran in June, they targeted its stockpile of ballistic missiles, hampering its ability to retaliate.

Iran could be trying to make use of its arsenal while it still has it.

As well as the UAE, blasts have also been reported in Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain, as well as in Iran's key regional rival, Saudi Arabia, which vowed to take "all necessary measures" to defend itself.

A drone strike caused damage and minor injuries at Kuwait International Airport.

Qatar and Jordan intercepted missiles targeting their countries.

One person was reportedly killed by falling debris after air defenses intercepted missiles targeting sites in Abu Dhabi.

The clashes have also disrupted traffic in the Strait of Hormuz – a crucial shipping route located between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

The US hasn't suffered any combat-related casualties in its operation against Iran and damage to US military installations has been minimal, US Central Command said in a statement.

-- Reporting with CNN

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