Around midnight on the night of February 28-March 1, 2026, a 29-year-old Nepali man named Dibas Shrestha (whose first name is also transliterated as ‘Diwas’) was killed as a result of an alleged Iranian drone, which was intercepted, at Zayed International Airport in the Abu Dhabi, with seven others injured. The names of the injured people were not found among local sources.
Around midnight on the night of February 28-March 1, Andalou Agency and others reported that “Abu Dhabi Airports stated … “an incident at Zayed International Airport resulted in the death of an Asian national and seven injuries.” According to Al Khaleej Online, Sky News Arabia and others, “Abu Dhabi Airports announced that authorities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi responded to an incident involving the interception of a drone targeting Zayed International Airport. The incident resulted in falling debris, causing one death of an Asian national and seven injuries.”
Most sources, citing UAE official press releases, reported that one person was killed in the incident. Facebook user @Monitoring network posted a photo of the interior of the airport in the aftermath of the strike, emptied of people and with damage to the ceiling, material from which appears to have collapsed onto the floor.
Sources differed with regards to the immediate cause of the casualties, with @AlkhaleejOnline and Sky News Arabia reporting that Abu Dhabi Airports, the holding company that owns Zayed International Airport, attributed the casualties to falling debris resulting from a drone interception. However, Radio Nepal Online reported that Dibas Shrestha was killed “while attempting to deactivate a fallen drone,” a claim that was echoed by Nepalese news service, Setopati.
According to the Kathmandu Post, Dibas Shrestha was working as a security guard at the airport at the time of his death, and was originally from Bhimsen Thapa Municipality, in the district of Gorkha in Nepal. “Relatives described him as cheerful and sociable,” it added. The media also noted that Dibas had been preparing to return home on leave within a few months. A day before the attack, Dibas had expressed concern over escalating Iran-Israel tensions through a Facebook status.“After watching the news, I felt concerned,” he wrote. “It seems that many reports are being circulated that are not entirely accurate. As residents of Abu Dhabi, we often have first-hand knowledge of the actual situation, yet the news sometimes presents exaggerated or misleading information.” He completed his secondary education at Saraswati Secondary School in Borlang and later pursued overseer studies in Kathmandu before deciding to seek employment abroad due to limited opportunities at home.
On March 8, 2026, Radio Nepal Online reported that Dibas’ body had been repatriated and noted that he “leaves behind his parents and a sister.” The final rites of Diwas were held in Pashupati Aryaghat on Saturday, March 7.
In this incident, local sources reported that harm resulted from falling Iranian missile debris after an interception. In line with Airwars’ methodology, strike status has been recorded as ‘contested’ as it is unclear whether the civilian harm resulted from Iranian missile itself or the interception. As sources agreed that civilian harm occurred, civilian harm status has been recorded as ‘fair’.