Kildare-based jockey awaiting return from Bahrain recalls ‘very loud’ explosion

A jockey who lives in Co Kildare has been stuck in Bahrain after his flight was cancelled due to intense bombing in the Middle East.

Diego Lima has been employed in the country since October, looking after horses during the winter racing season.

He works for a sheikh who has horses in both Ireland and Bahrain.

He was due to fly home on Sunday March 2, but his flight was cancelled when bombing started in the region the previous day.

A US military base in Bahrain was targeted early in Iran’s response to the bombing of Tehran and the assassination of former leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.

Mr Lima said he first heard explosions as he was walking around a racetrack that day.

“I was quite relaxed and I just heard a very loud noise explode like ‘boom’. And I heard a noise of a missile very fast.

“It was very loud and you could feel the ground being quite shaky.

“I was very scared because it felt like it was very close but it was – I think it was 15 kilometres away from me and it was still very strong.”

An Italian citizen, Mr Lima first came to Ireland in 2005 and is anxious to return to his partner in Athy, Co Kildare, who has been worried for his safety.

He is continuing to look after the horses as he awaits further information on how he may return home.

“The first day was very, very hard because everyone didn’t know what happened, and after that people have started to relax as they understand,” he said.

Asked about when he might be able to return home, he said: “I have no idea because we never know when they might come attacking again.

“Some attacks are in the morning, during the day, in the middle of the night – maybe two or three times every day.”

He first believed he would be able to get home after four or five days but uncertainty has grown.

“Now people tell me maybe 10 days, or two weeks. I just wait for it to open because I still have my ticket.”

Mr Lima, who said he can often see trails of missiles overhead, added: “I just hope it does not get worse. It all depends what happens next.”