Visa expiry would prove lucky for two Indian expats who could not board the Dubai to Kerala flight that crashed at the Karipur airport in Malappuram on Friday, killing 18 people on board.
Noufal Moin Vetten and Afsal Parrakodan – in two separate incidents – had both been unable to board the flights they booked, despite getting their tickets. They had both overstayed their visas by a few days and were asked to pay fines, which neither could manage to pay on time.
For Noufal, an Ajman resident working as an office boy in a Sharjah school, the visa was cancelled a week ago. He had on Friday checked in at the Dubai airport on time. But the Malappuram native could not pay the fine asked of him at the immigration, he told Gulf News. He was asked to pay a fine of Dh 1,000 (Rs 20,430) for overstay but had only half that amount with him.
He called his school PRO, who asked him to postpone the trip home. He was assured that all the protocol would be followed and the fines paid before he goes home. Noufal was disappointed and called his family to let them know.
But when he heard about the crash, he was relieved to have missed it, though he felt saddened for all the passengers. God has been really merciful, he said.
The other man who had a similar struck of luck is Afsal Parrakodan, a resident of Abu Dhabi.
His work visa too got cancelled a week ago and it was after he got his boarding pass that he learnt about the fine of Dh1,000. He had only half the amount with him and called up a friend to bring the remaining. But by the time the friend could reach, his baggage had been offloaded and the flight’s doors were closed, he said.
Afsal who was very keen to board the flight and be with his family was very upset and called his mother to tell her about it. But a few hours later when he heard about crash, he was relieved, he said, and thanked God for saving his life.
The Air India Express – Boeing 737 aircraft – overshot the runway at the Karipur airport in Malappuram and crashed, splitting itself into three.