Some passengers were to attend funerals

 Dubai/Abu Dhabi: Some boarded Flight IX812 to Mangalore in high spirits and some were mourning loved ones. Hours later their families were overcome by grief — the list of dead brought home the horror.

A brother's wedding

Bhaskar Sundar could not but curse his marriage plans when he recognised the burnt remains of his brother Praveen among the victims. Praveen, 27, was going to Mangalore to attend Bhaskar's wedding on the 27th of this month.

"He was keen to come a few days before my marriage ... I cannot believe he is no more," Bhaskar told Gulf News over the phone from Mangalore. "I recognised his body from the ring he was wearing and his wristwatch. His mobile phone was also inside his pants pocket," said the bother.

Praveen was working as an accountant in BBL Enterprising, a furnishing and fabrics company in Dubai. His employer Renuka Asar said Praveen had fought all odds to get on the flight.

"He was supposed to fly on Friday but he missed the flight. He is the one who checks everybody's ticket in the office but he did not check his own. I wanted him to wait and hand over papers but he insisted he wanted to go on Saturday," said Renuka.

A funeral

Seven members of a family were on the flight to attend a relative's funeral. Some family members said they too would have been caught in the tragedy had they not boarded a different flight because tickets were not available.

"One of our grandmothers died on Thursday and at least six other members from our family were supposed to be on that flight if they had got tickets," said Mohammad Farhan, a cousin of one of the victims.

Mohammad Ziyad Mohammad Mehboob, 43, his wife Zameena Ziad, 36, and their two children Mohammad Zubair, 4, and Zainab, 3, were killed, according to the relatives. Mohammad Irshad 31, who is Mehboob's cousin, his wife Neha Irshad, 23, and their one-year-old son also died.

Another funeral

Mevis Corda a nurse at the Shaikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi and her husband Shailesh Rao Bhramavar flew into the UAE on an Air India Express flight on Thursday after visiting her ailing mother-in-law.

Her mother-in-law passed away on Friday and her husband decided to go for the funeral. He took flight IX812. Mervis is now flying back to Mangalore via Bangalore.

"My husband decided to make the trip to perform the last rites," said Mevis. "I also wanted to go with him but since we had just come back he said he would go alone.

Gracie Sequeria, a colleague of both Mevis and Shailesh at SKMC said: "He spoke to me yesterday night before leaving for his mother's funeral. He said he was going as he was the eldest son and wanted to perform the final rites. Shailesh was a clerk with us and was a very jovial man. We still can't believe it."

Dreams of a future

Akshay Bolar dreamt of pursuing his higher education in India. He along with his mother and grandmother boarded the plane to Mangalore. A student of Our Own English High School, Sharjah, Akshay got his CBSE Grade 12 results on Friday and could not wait to try his luck with admissions for computer science courses in India. Shwetha, a close relative of the family, said Akshay's elder sister was also supposed to fly with them but she could not get a ticket.

Twist of fate

The New Medical Centre Group's managing director and CEO Dr B.R. Shetty had boarded the Boeing 737-800 for a flight from Mangalore to Dubai and it was the return flight to the south Indian city that crashed with the same crew. NMC lost three of its employees in the crash.

"Three of our employees were on the flight while two others lost their wife and brother respectively. We are shocked and pray for the victims of the flight," said Shetty,.

Jayaprakash Devadiga from the accounts section at the NMC Specialty Hospital in Dubai, Abdul Nazar Avinja, a merchandiser in the trading division and Ashraf Abdul, a storekeeper in NMC Dubai, perished in the accident.

Satish Shetty, who works in the heavy equipment department of NMC Group, lost his wife Rama while Girish Shetty from the scientific department lost his brother Mahesh in the crash.

"I took the flight on Friday at 9.30pm and reached Dubai at 11.45pm and it was the same aircraft which did the return trip," Shetty said.

Enquiries: Consulate hotlines

The Indian Consulate in Dubai is operating hotline numbers where people can call for information. The numbers are 04 3960174, 3971222 and 3971333.

The Air India helpline numbers are 04 2165828, or 04 2165829. The other number is 050 3780114.Sharjah counter: 06 5627276/ 065627000

Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre helpline: 04 2274899In India, the helpline to call is 0091 011 25656196 or 0091 011 26503101.