UAE: Four young Indian expat brothers killed in Abu Dhabi car crash laid to rest side by side in Dubai

Dubai: Four young Indian expat brothers in the UAE, who lost their lives in a devastating car accident on Sunday morning in Abu Dhabi, were laid to rest side by side at a cemetery in Dubai on Tuesday afternoon.

Emotions ran high as hundreds of people, including relatives, friends and community members, gathered at Al Qusais Cemetery in Muhaisnah to witness the burial of all four sons of Kerala parents Abdul Latheef and Rukhsana.

Many were moved to tears as the funeral took place in the presence of the boys’ heartbroken father, his arm in a sling, seated in a wheelchair.

“I have never witnessed a mass burial of children from the same family like this. It has been heartbreaking for everyone present,” a social worker at the funeral told Gulf News.

As reported by Gulf News on Sunday, Ashaz, 14, Ammaar, 12, and Ayyash, five, along with the family’s domestic worker, Bushra Fayaz Yahu, 49, died when their vehicle crashed in the early hours of Sunday morning while they were returning to Dubai from the popular Liwa Festival.

The fourth son, seven-year-old Azzaam, succumbed to his injuries on Monday evening while the parents and their only daughter, 10-year-old Izzaa, continued to receive treatment at a hospital in Abu Dhabi. Bushra's mortal remains were sent home on Monday night and her funeral was held in Kerala earlier on Tuesday.

Extended family members spent agonising hours trying to find the right moment to share the devastating news with the bereaved parents. They managed to inform the children’s father, Abdul Latheef, late on Sunday night. However, mother Rukhsana, learned of the tragedy only on Tuesday.

“Rukhsana underwent a surgery for her injured hand yesterday. Nothing was informed to her until today,” said a relative, his voice heavy with grief.

“It was a counselling team that broke the heartbreaking news to her today. We stayed away to give them privacy and to allow the team to handle it professionally,” he added.

While Izzaa, who is now stable, was playing on a mobile phone from her hospital bed, unaware of what had happened to her brothers, extended family members made funeral arrangements with the support of social workers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The grieving parents were allowed a final viewing of the boys’ bodies before they were transported to Dubai on Tuesday afternoon, fulfilling the mother’s wish to see her sons one final time. Rukhsana was transported by ambulance to the hospital mortuary, where the bodies of the children had been brought from Abu Dhabi Central Morgue.

Though he was still in pain and in a cast, the father requested to be discharged from the hospital to attend the funeral, while the devastated mother remained hospitalised with the couple’s only surviving child.

All four brothers were laid to rest by around 4.30pm after funeral prayers were held in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai earlier.

Social workers said Dubai authorities expedited special approvals, as the family’s residence visas were issued in Ras Al Khaimah.

“Usually, residents are buried in the emirate where their visas are issued. Though their visas are from Ras Al Khaimah, the family has been living in Dubai, and most of their relatives also live here. Hence, they wished to lay the children to rest in Dubai. We are grateful to the Dubai authorities for their support and for speeding up the procedures,” a social worker said.

The UAE has long been home to Rukhsana. She was born and raised in the country, where her parents lived decades ago. Some of her siblings continue to live here. Her mother and a sister, now residing in Kerala, and a brother visiting Spain, were among the relatives who flew into the UAE following the tragedy. Several members of the extended family and close friends have also surrounded the couple with support during their darkest hour.

Just days ago, the family had been living what many would describe as a dream life in the UAE. Abdul Latheef runs his own business in Ras Al Khaimah, while Rukhsana works as a property consultant in Dubai. Their five children were the centre of their world.

They had travelled to the Liwa Festival with a group of friends to make the most of the last weekend of the winter break. While the other family chose to stay back in Abu Dhabi, Abdul Latheef and Rukhsana made a fateful decision to return home to prepare their children for their first day back at school after the month-long winter holiday.

“It was a decision driven by love and responsibility — the kind parents make every day. No one could have imagined the family’s joy would turn into such unimaginable sorrow in the blink of an eye,” the relative said.

According to the family members, the accident took place around 4am on Sunday. Gulf News is awaiting a response from Abu Dhabi Police

The tragedy has sent shockwaves through the close-knit Kerala community in the UAE, with friends, relatives and community members rallying around the grieving family. The school community of Arab Unity School, a British curriculum school in Dubai attended by all five children, has also been deeply affected.