Landin in tragedy

This is the second major air tragedy involving UAE’s Indian expats — 32 years after an Indian Airlines flight from Mumbai to Dubai crashed in Bandra killing 260 passengers on board.

Calls from anxious relatives and friends of Indian expatriates flooded newspaper offices,television stations and and radio stations all over UAE after the crash of AI-812 at Mangalore,while a few who were to board that flight and could not show up in time at the airport,thanked God.

Relatives of the victims are now hastily preparing to fly in for the funerals and cremations,but the closure of the Mangalore airport after the tragedy would make things difficult for many,and flight delays are leaving many on tenterhooks at the Dubai airport.

According to Air India Express Regional Manager in Dubai,Abhay Pathak,there were nine last-minute,life saving,cancellations on that ill-fated flight.

The crash has wiped out a part of or whole of many families,many have been robbed of their sole breadwinners. “My cousin’s wife and their nine-month-old child were on that flight,they are dead. He was to join them there on July 5 to celebrate their second marriage anniversary,and had happily seen them off at Dubai airport. He is flying home tonight for their funeral,” says a grieving relative,whose cousin manages an IT firm in Jebel Ali Free Zone.

Members of an entire family from Bhatkal — father and three children — too died in the accident. “I made the bookings for the children to be with their father during their school vacation,and they were flying home to resume school from May 25. Their mother had died in a road accident five months ago and the children,living with their grandparents,had gone to Dubai on April 3 to spend time with their father. Now the entire family has been wiped out,leaving only a 70-year-old grandfather and a 60-year-old grandmother in the new house that the couple built with so much passion. The children,Suhaib Naser,Bibi Sara and Nabeesa Naser were in the seventh,fifth and third standards,” says their travel agent and family friend in Dubai.

Bhagal Prabhakar,who died in the crash,had arrived in UAE barely 20 days ago looking for a job. He was going back home to return on an employment visa. Says his neighbour who is employed in Dubai and helped him get the visitors visa and a return ticket: “He is from a very poor family and I just wanted to help him. I was so happy when he got a job offer here so soon. His family is devastated,he was their only hope.”

“We were all living together for the last 15 years in a Bur Dubai bachelors apartment. I saw them off at the airport,and both were thrilled about getting their sister Faousia married off,” adds one of their flatmates.

Says Sudhir Kumar Shetty,Chief Operation Officer,UAE Exchange,part of the NMC Group. “Three of our employees — Mannappadu Ashraf Abdul,Abdul Naser Bavinja and Jayaprakash Devadika and two of their relatives — died in the crash.”

AI is offering free tickets to relatives of the passengers to fly back home to participate in their relatives’ funeral or to identify dead bodies. The Indian Consulate and social organiations like Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre too have set up dedicated hotlines for the relatives of victims.

Ibrahim Moideen Kunju,employee of Daniel Cigarette factory,escaped death by a whisker thanks to a last minute goof-up. “I was planning to travel with a neighbour on the crashed plane,but had to cancel at the last minute because I could not get my passport back from the company HR manager. He had promised to return it on Saturday and I did not inform my family about cancelling the trip. I had got married only three months ago and my wife,Fathima Najma,called me in the morning to know if I was alive. My neighbour,Ismail Ibrahim Nakkara,who travelled on it was looking forward to getting married. He is now no more.”

Another person who had a narrow escape is Steven Rego,a student of Alosius College in Mangalore. Says his mother,Sheela Rego: “God had different plans. He was to board that flight. I booked the ticket for him but was confused about the date. We though the flight was at 1:15 am tonight,so he did not make it. My son has been saved.”

Thresiamma Philip,who works in Dibba of Dubai also missed the flight due to the same goof-up about its timing. “I thought the flight was on Saturday night. I saw my name among the list of dead being put out,but I am alive. I was going to Mangalore to meet my daughter studying there,” he says.

Abdullah,manager of a shop in Ibn Battutta Mall,a major shopping mall in Dubai,was the first passenger to jump out of the plane. “I was going to Mangalore to see a doctor for my back pain. My wife,brothers and daughter were waiting to see me at the airport. I was the first to jump out with six others from the plane and ran for my life. After a while,I looked back and saw the plane in flames. I reached a nearby railway track and villagers gave me water. My family at the airport called me on my mobile and I told them I am safe,” said Abdullah when contacted on the phone.