Air India Express crash: Pregnant wife dies days before first anniversary

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Air India Express crash, Pregnant woman, dies, husband, flies home,

Dubai - Manal had boarded the Air India Express flight to exit the UAE before the visit visa amnesty deadline of August 10.

by

Ashwani Kumar

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Published: Sat 8 Aug 2020, 6:00 PM

Last updated: Sun 9 Aug 2020, 8:45 AM

Ten days short of the couple's first wedding anniversary, Indian expat Athif Muhammed is flying home to bid final adieu to his pregnant wife Manal, who succumbed to injuries sustained during the ill-fated Air India Express crash on Friday.
Manal had boarded the Air India Express flight to exit the UAE before the visit visa amnesty deadline of August 10.
Athif and his mum Safiya took off to Kozhikode from Dubai on Saturday to see Manal one last time. Athif's father Ismail, who was at Dubai airport to see them off, said it is a tough phase for the family.
On Friday, they had set off from Abu Dhabi to drop Manal to the airport in Dubai. And within a couple of hours they were shocked to learn about her death. "We came to know about her death very late. It was an anxious wait to get reliable information. We couldn't depend on WhatsApp forward messages. We prayed not to hear the worst news. We learned that many people were rescued and were hopeful. But then, we came to know about her demise," said Ismail.
Recollecting memories of his daughter-in-law, Ismail said Manal was a well-educated and ambitious woman. "She had lost her father in an accident last March. The couple got married in August and Athif recently moved to Ajman after he got a job as an accountant in Dubai. Manal came to the UAE in February and the couple was set to mark their first wedding anniversary on August 17. But she had to leave unexpectedly because of the visa amnesty deadline. Since Athif is still completing his probation period, he couldn't accompany her," he said.
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com 


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