Prayers held at dream home of couple killed in Dubai blaze
▶ Final prayers held for Rijesh Kalangadan and Jeshi Kandamangalath in ‘dream home’ they were building in Kerala
A couple who died in Saturday’s fire in Dubai were planning to welcome friends to their dream home in Kerala this summer.
Instead, the families of Rijesh Kalangadan, 38, and Jeshi Kandamangalath, 32, gathered at the house in Vengara yesterday to pray for the couple, friends told The National. Their fourthfloor apartment in Deira was next to the flat where the fire that killed 16 people began.
They called frantically for help from their balcony before the flames forced them inside.
Mansour Thekkilparambil, a friend and neighbour, said he and three others ran up an emergency exit to try to save those trapped by the blaze.
“I reached the fourth floor exit door and opened the door, but the heat was too much,” he said.
“There were thick walls of smoke and flames. We waited on the stairs below but nobody came out.”
The fire, in which nine were injured, is being investigated.
The night before, Mr Thekkilparambil’s family shared iftar with the couple who died.
“They are like family – we come from the same village,” he said.
“Now all I remember is them asking for help and that we could not reach them.”
Zainudheen Kuzhikkattia, co-owner of a tourism company where Mr Kalangadan worked, was among those who tried to save lives.
“We had so many celebrations together, like when Rijesh and Jeshi celebrated their 11th wedding anniversary,” he said. “This is too much for us.” Ms Kandamangalath taught English for more than six years at Crescent English High School. “Jeshi had a strong bond with students and teachers,” said principal Sharafudeen Thanikatt.
A couple who died in the fire in an apartment block in Dubai were building their dream home in Kerala, friends have said.
Rijesh Kalangadan, 38, and Jeshi Kandamangalath, 32, died when “thick walls of smoke” cut off their escape from the fire in Deira on Saturday.
They were among several people who went on to the balconies of the building as the fire began to take hold.
The couple, whose fourthfloor apartment was next to where the blaze started, had to leave the balcony when the heat and smoke became too much, neighbours said.
Their bodies were taken to India yesterday, where final prayers took place at the home they were building.
The couple were among four Indians killed.
Other victims included three from Pakistan, six from Sudan and one each from Cameroon, Egypt and Jordan. Nine people were injured in the blaze.
Gudu Saliyakoondu, a security guard from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, died when he went back into the building to save residents on the top floor.
The Tamil Nadu government announced compensation of one million rupees ($12,190) each for the families of Mr Saliyakoondu and Imam Kasim, another resident who died in the fire.
MK Stalin, the state’s Chief Minister, said that he was “deeply saddened” to learn of their deaths.
The Indian consulate in Dubai said it was in contact with the families of victims and was working to provide help with repatriating the bodies.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif extended condolences to the families of the three Pakistanis who died.
Mansour Thekkilparambil, a long-time friend and neighbour of Ms Kandamangalath, said he was haunted by the memory of her sobbing as her husband Rijesh tried to comfort her on the balcony.
“Rijesh kept telling her not to worry and that it would be OK and I could hear Jeshi crying and shouting ‘save us, help us’,” he said.
Mr Thekkilparambil, who lives on the third floor, escaped with his wife and daughter minutes after they heard a blast and shouts of “fire”.
He and three others later ran up the emergency exit at the back of the building to try to help people. “I reached the fourth floor exit door and opened the door but the heat was too much,” he said.
“There were thick walls of smoke and flames.
“We waited on the stairs below but nobody came out.”
The families shared iftar on Sunday. “We come from the same village. Now all I remember is them asking for help and that we could not reach them,” Mr Thekkilparambil said.
Zainudheen Kuzhikkattia, co-owner of a tourism company where Mr Kalangadan worked, was among those who rushed up the emergency stairs in a desperate attempt to save lives.
“When I saw Rijesh on the balcony, I told him not to use the lift and to try the staircase,”
Mr Kuzhikkattia said. “He went inside but said the smoke was too heavy.
“I kept saying: ‘Don’t worry, we will do something, we will find a solution.’
“We tried to reach them by using the back staircase. But there was too much heat, it was difficult to breathe.
“Then we could not reach his phone any more.”
Ms Kandamangalath was an English teacher at Dubai’s Crescent English High School.
“The main quality about her that people remember is walking in the corridors with a smile on her face,” said principal Sharafudeen Thanikatt.
Family and mourners crowded into the couple’s new home in Vengara town.
Final prayers were read before the cremation yesterday.
“It is so sad that instead of a housewarming we have a funeral,” said relative Ramesh Manammal.
Dubai Civil Defence blamed the fire on poor safety standards.
Rijesh kept telling her not to worry and that it would be OK and I could hear Jeshi crying and shouting ‘save us, help us’ Friend of victim Jeshi Kandamangalath MANSOUR THEKKILPARAMBIL