I think 99% of the passengers have never experienced something like this,” she said. In the city centre, past the brightly coloured buildings of the Old Doha Port tourist district, warning sirens wailed. “We are happy to leave,” Doniyor, 16, from Tashkent, Uzbekistan told AFP as he carried his family’s bags to the bus filling with passengers. Passengers said the first to be evacuated from the Mein Schiff 5 were to be families and those with medical needs. Sirch said before embarking on his trip he had not anticipated the dangers of a possible war with Iran.

Source: New Zealand Herald March 08, 2026 11:17 UTC