Bay Area residents return from Dubai with images of war

SAN FRANCISCO - Passengers arriving at SFO on the first flights from Dubai on Thursday, were greeted with hugs and tears after some had been trapped overseas this past week when the U.S. - Iran war broke out.

"We were in the hotel and in the middle of the night we heard the bomb," John Chen, a San Francisco resident, said.

Seeing smoke from airstrikes

Chen was on a group tour with 60 Bay Area travelers when they were trapped in Dubai.

Chen says he was celebrating his birthday on the sightseeing trip, but the sights he saw ended up being images of war. His videos, taken from the tour bus, show smoke rising from one of Iran's airstrikes, as the bus rolled by.

"Our flight was canceled three times," Chen said.

Prerana Dalal of Fremont says she had been flying back to California from India, when her flight was turned around midair and diverted to Dubai, where she was stuck for days.

"I was very worried, because I was far from my family," Dalal said.

Missile warnings and taking shelter in Dubai

Judie, who lives in the East Bay, says she was on a business trip to Dubai when she and her colleagues heard booms and received messages on cell phones and watches warning of imminent missile strikes and advising people to seek shelter immediately. She says she spent the night in the lobby of the J.W. Marriott hotel in Dubai, where she says about 1,000 people evacuated from the airport took shelter.

"About 200 people slept in the lobby lounge across the couches, and it was absolutely frightening," Judie said as she stood at SFO, recalling the chaos. She says a friend alerted her to a flight that was able to leave for London, as she tried to get home for a family emergency.

Canceled flights and the scramble to get seats

"I was on the phone with the travel agent, and he said I have the last seat on the flight to London today, so I'm grateful and prayerful that I got it," Judie said.

Chen says it was tense Thursday morning at the airport. He took video as Dubai finally let the first flights leave.

Kelly Degarmo said she and two other women from Napa were on a Mormon group tour, and say it was stressful trying to find a way to get back to the Bay Area.

"We were in a group with 63 people, and 59 of them are still there, and we were the lucky ones that got a seat," Degarmo said.

A call from a Congressman

While stuck in Dubai, the women said they received a call from their Congressman Mike Thompson, who had heard they were trapped.

"It was the middle of the night, and he said he knew we were aware we were here and they were meeting about it," Jennifer Kastner, of Napa, said.

"We feel really lucky that we got out, and it was just the luck of the draw that it wasn't canceled," Amy Scott of Napa said.

Despite the relief, many say they are worried about friends and colleagues who are still in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, and hope those people will be able to return home safely soon.