SHOCK AND RELIEF
FAMILIES SEARCH FOR KIN AS SURVIVORS CANNOT BELIEVE THEY ARE ALIVE
They were all here on visit visa that got expired. We have been trying to find tickets for them.” Safan Vadakkan, husband of survivor
It was a sleepless night for Keralite expats in the UAE whose family and friends were on board the ill-fated Air India Express flight that crash-landed in Kozhikode, Kerala, on Friday evening.
As shocking pictures of the tragedy that reportedly killed at least 17 people and injured several are flooding the social media, residents who spoke to Khaleej Times said they are frantically trying to find information to confirm their loved ones are safe.
Ajman expat Shameer Vadakkan, whose wife and three kids were also on the flight, said he spent the “most tensed three hours of his life” when he heard about the crash. “I had dropped my wife and three children at Dubai International Airport at 9am in the morning with a heavy heart as they were leaving the UAE after 10 years. Since I lost my job and had joined a new one, I packed off my family to India. At 6pm I got a call from a relative who informed me about the crash. I felt my heart would stop as I switched on the television and saw horrific visuals of the crash. I broke down but kept on calling my relatives. After hours, I was finally told that my family had survived but suffered injuries. While my wife and two kids suffered fractures, my younger daughter has some head injury. I am now looking to take a flight back home as soon as possible to be with my family.”
Another expatriate Safan Vadakkan said: “I cannot think straight. My wife and two kids are in the plane. I hope they are safe. I am calling on every possible number. I have been told that my kids are safe. But nothing is clear now. I am praying.”
His brother Jayan’s family consisting wife and three children were also on board the Vande Bharat Mission flight that left Dubai International Airport on Friday afternoon.
“They were all here on visit visa that got expired. We have been trying to find tickets for them,” said Vadakkan.
Muneer, another expatriate whose sister-in-law Manal was in the flight, said his brother and family is “beyond consolable”. “We do not know what has happened to her. I had lunch with her and my brother on Thursday night and she was really excited about going home,” he said. “There is no confirmation about anything. It is utter chaos and we are really hoping to get some news,” said Muneer.
Sharjah resident Nadia K stared at the television set in disbelief as the news flashed on Friday evening as her 66-year-old mother Sulekha Peedeyakkal was on the flight.
Speaking to Khaleej Times over the phone, Nadia, a school teacher, said: “We dropped our mother at the airport in the morning at around 10am as her flight was to take off at 1.30pm. My younger brother was waiting at the Kozhikode airport. But my cousin called us at around 7pm to tell me that the plane had crash-landed. We have been on calls with my brothers and other relatives since evening as none was able to locate my mother. There was complete pandemonium at the airport as everyone was busy with rescue operations and we were unable to get through any numbers.”
Nadia said what caused her to panic was that she was unable to locate or reach her mother on the phone. “My brother and other relatives rushed to various hospitals but were unable to locate my mother. Finally, one of our relatives spotted my mother being taken in an ambulance to a private hospital in Kozhikode. My brother and relatives are now on their way to Kozhikode and we hope she is okay,” she added.
Nadia’s mother Sulekha came to Sharjah in early March on visit visa but her visa expired on June 10 and she was then returning. Sulekha hails from Kottayil, Malappuram district.
RAK Resident Abu Bakr heaved a sigh of relief when he heard his family friends Ashiq Perumbal and Mohammed Shaheen were safe after the crash. He said: “Ashiq and Mohammed are brothers and I’ve known them for the last 17 years. I can’t tell you how relieved I was to hear from Ashiq’s wife that both of them were safe and had survived the horrific crash. He had borrowed the phone of a rescue worker to call his wife. They suffered minor injuries and are at Kottakal Mims Hospital now.”
Abdul Manaf, another Dubai expat said he was relieved to finally get in touch with his wife Hadiya and child, who are currently in a hospital in Kozhikode.
“Such a relief after speaking to her. You can imagine what I went through after hearing the news,” Manaf told Khaleej Times. They were in Dubai for four months on a visit visa.
Dubai resident Abdullah Kevi and his wife were relieved to hear from their nephew a couple of hours after the blast. He said: “My wife’s sister Zenobia Mohammed Ali with her two boys (4 and 15) were on that flight. The older boy Azam borrowed somebody’s mobile and called us. We are glad he is fine and was in a position to talk. My sisterin-law and her younger son have been spotted in two separate hospitals in Kozhikode. We don’t know what kind of injuries they have sustained but we are just indebted to God that they are alive.”
There is no confirmation about anything. It is utter chaos and we are really hoping to get some news about her.” Muneer, relative of survivor
I tried hard not to move by holding on to my seat. There were loud screams and voices. I can’t still believe I’m out safely.” Junaid survivor