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It was a double tragedy for a family in Kasargod district of Kerala which lost its Dubai-based son, who was on his way to attend his father's funeral, in the crash of the Air India Express flight in Mangalore.
Siddique Sulaiman, a trading salesman, was on his way to attend his father's last rites in Kasargod and ended up boarding the fateful Air India Express flight to Mangalore.
"We were at the airport since Friday morning trying to find a flight for Siddique so that he could attend the funeral. Finally, he got a seat on this flight at approximately 10 pm on Friday night," Siddique's brother-in-law Abdul Nasir told PTI.
Siddique's brother Usman Sulaiman had boarded an earlier flight and reached Kasargod in time for the funeral. Siddique, who was working for UAE's Skyland Trading, was traveling alone, Nasir said. His sisters and brothers-in-law live in Dubai.
"All of us were at the airport to see him off on Friday night. It is a heart-breaking tragedy for the entire family," Nasir said.
The funeral of Siddique's father took place at 8 am today morning.
People from north Kerala land at Mangalore because it is only two hours away by road from their eventual destination. Another UAE-based Indian, Qadir, who also hails from Kasargod, said a lot of people from the district opt for this route.
"This airport is only 63 kms away from the city and it is easy for people in my home town to land in Mangalore," he said. According to him, a lot of victims on the flight could have been from Kasargod.
All but eight people on the Air India Express plane from Dubai, with 166 persons on board, were feared killed when the Boeing aircraft crashed and caught fire after it overshot the brand new runway, while landing at Mangalore airport on Saturday.