Dubai expat killed in Colombo's Shangri-La Hotel blast this morning
She was in Sri Lanka visiting relatives; her husband had left earlier in the day
A UAE resident holidaying in Sri Lanka was among those killed in the serial blasts in Colombo on Sunday.
P.S. Razeena, 60, was killed in a bomb blast in a hotel hours after her husband, Abdul Kader Kukkady, left for Dubai, the Indian woman’s cousin told Gulf News over phone from Kerala.
The couple, who lived in Jumeriah Lake Towers in Dubai, were on holiday visiting relatives, said Razeena’s cousin Nazir P.S. Mohammad, who is a former Dubai resident.
“They went on a holiday trip to Sri Lanka. Her own brother lives in Colombo,” said Nazir, who now lives in Kerala’s Kasaragod district.
Ours is a joint family. We lived in the same house and studied in the same school. She had visited us just two months back for my nephew’s wedding.
“On Friday evening, they checked in [to] Hotel Shangri-La. Her husband went back to Dubai this morning. She was supposed to check out and go back to Mangalore [India], where they are settled.” She was grabbing a quick breakfast at the hotel before her scheduled flight this afternoon.
A bomb explosion ripped through Shangri-La around breakfast time.
Upon reaching Dubai, Abdul Khader, CEO at Olam International, learnt about the shocking news and took a flight back to Colombo, said Nazir.
“It’s very painful…very shocking,” said a devastated Nazir who grew up with Razeena.
He said their family of Sri Lankan origin had migrated to India several decades ago.
“Ours is a joint family. We lived in the same house and studied in the same school. She had visited us just two months back for my nephew’s wedding,” he said.
Her cousin Zakir Ahmad, who is also based in Dubai, said he was very shocked by the news.
Razina who was originally a Sri Lankan national was married to Abdul Khader, from Mangalore. The couple lived in Libya and Bahrain before moving to Dubai two years ago. The couple’s son and daughter live in the US, Ahmad added.