JOIN USKasargod district accounted for 28 deaths mostly of people flying in to attend marriages or of deaths. Parappa, a small village in the district was witness to seven funerals on Sunday. Mohammed Basheer and Aboobacker Siddique of Uppala were coming home to attend their sister Fouziya’s wedding. However, both of them perished in the inferno.
Siddique, 30, was coming to attend his father Sulaiman Haji’s burial when his trip also ended prematurely. His brother Husain who got a ticket to fly in by an earlier flight was lucky enough but inconsolable when he heard his brother’s ill-luck. T T V Bhaskaran, a CPM leader of Nileswaram and his wife Komalavalli were returning after visiting their sons who are engineers in Dubai.
Though they were slated to come only on Sunday, a book release by Bhaskaran’s relative and former minister M K Balakrishnan advanced his journey by a day. Their bodies were cremated in the presence of a huge crowd of relatives and well-wishers.
As a mark of respect to the victims, Nileswaram town is observing a hartal on Monday.
One of the tragic tales is of 46-year-old Abdul Samad who hailed from Kannur. He was coming home to see his wife and children after three years but perished in the crash as they watched helplessly and shell-shocked. The state government has announced a relief of Rs 3 lakh each to the relatives of the victims.