Two Indian students die in horrific Dubai road accident

Dubai - They were on their way back home.

Christmas morning turned tragic for two Indian families after two varsity students were killed in a tragic road accident in Jebel Ali in the early hours of Christmas morning, Wednesday, December 25.
The students Rohit Krishnakumar (19) and Sharat Kumar (21) had returned home to Dubai for the winter holidays from their universities in the UK and the US respectively. Family friends said the accident took place inside the Gardens, a residential area near Jebel Ali at approximately 3 am. It is said that Sharath and Rohit, along with two other friends had driven to a nearby food joint from Sharat's house for a late-night snack and were driving a Mercedes sedan.
"They were on their way back home. One friend had come in his own car and he drove off. After dropping the third friend, Sharath was driving to drop Rohit back home when tragedy struck," said Paul T Joseph, a family friend. According to Joseph, their homes are only half a kilometre apart in the Greens and their sedan rammed into a tree in the neighbourhood. The car was completely damaged in the accident.
Both students were killed on-the-spot, however, the details of the crash are presently unknown, said family sources. "We assume that Sharat may have been jet-lagged and tired as both boys returned to Dubai only the day before yesterday," added Joseph.
The parents assumed that they must've slept over at each other's house and did not check on them the previous night; however, they were notified by Police officials the next morning. "The accident is very mysterious and bizarre. We are all wondering how such a terrible accident took place inside a residential area such as the Greens," he said, 
The families of both boys are originally from Kerala, India; however, they have been working in the UAE for several years. Sharat, lovingly called Kannan by close friends and family is the only son to his parents Raji and Anand Kumar and is a student of the Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University. "The boys were brilliant students, they did very well in school. Rohit is a recipient of the Sheikh Hamdan Award," said Joseph. Rohit Krishnakumar was a student of the University of Manchester and is his parent's youngest son "He too is a very good student. The entire family is in a state of shock. We don't know how to console them," he said. Rohit's family is from Pattambi, however, they are settled in Ernakulum district in Kerala.
The students were friends since childhood and were both former students of the Delhi Private School. The mortal remains of both boys are to be repatriated back home to India on Thursday.
 
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Dubai