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Report: Dad won't let drowning daughter be saved by "strange" rescuer

A 20-year-old woman drowned at a beach in Dubai after her father prevented rescuers from saving her because it would "dishonor her," an official told Emirates 24|7.

Lt. Col Ahmed Burqibah, a deputy director with the Dubai Police, told the media outlet that an Asian man took his wife and kids to the beach "when suddenly, the 20-year-old girl started drowning and screaming for help."

Burqibah said that two lifeguards rushed to help the woman but her father refused to let them intervene.

"The father was a tall and strong man. He started pulling and preventing the rescue men and got violent with them. He told them that he prefers his daughter being dead than being touched by a strange man," Burqibah said.

Burqibah told Emirates 24|7 that the father believed that if the men touched his daughter, "then this would dishonor her."

The woman drowned and her father was arrested, he said.

"She died unfortunately, at a time when she had a chance to live, especially that the rescue men were so close to her to pull her out of the water," he said.

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