A tragic incident has emerged from the deserts of Saudi Arabia, where a young man from Telangana met an untimely death. This Indian youth, who had been working in Saudi Arabia for the past three years, lost his life after getting lost in one of the most dangerous deserts in the world, the Rub' al Khali.
The deceased has been identified as Shahbaz Khan, a 27-year-old from Karimnagar, Telangana, who had been employed with a Saudi-based company for three years.
Shahbaz was a tower technician at a telecom company located in the Al Ahsa region of Saudi. Five days ago, he embarked on a routine task with a colleague but a GPS malfunction led them astray into the treacherous Rub' al Khali desert. Things worsened when their motorcycle ran out of fuel, and their mobile phones died with the batteries drained.
In a land among the driest on the planet, survival without water and food becomes nearly impossible. The absence of camels and other wildlife compounds the difficulty in finding help, making it hard for those lost in the desert to survive. Without resources, and under the scorching heat, Shahbaz and his companion could not withstand the harsh conditions. After many days stranded in the desert, hunger, thirst, dehydration, and exhaustion claimed their lives. The incident came to light when Shahbaz's company reported him missing, prompting a search operation that eventually led to the discovery of their bodies in the desert.
Why is Rub' al Khali dangerous?
Due to its arduous nature, Rub' al Khali is also known as the Empty Quarter. It constitutes a quarter of Saudi Arabia's total landmass and extends over 650 kilometers. This desert stretches to the borders of Oman, UAE, and Yemen and is infamous for its extremely harsh conditions.