Dubai: A Dubai expat who died after rescuing two children from flood waters in Kerala on Tuesday, was laid to rest in Malappuram on Wednesday afternoon.
Hundreds of people attended the funeral of Razak Akkiparambil, 42, an employee of an Indian school in Dubai, which was held at the Tirur BP Angadi Juma Masjid in Malappuram district in the south Indian state.
“Around 1,000 people attended the funeral. We finished the rituals by 12.30pm here,” Razak’s brother-in-law Shareef told Gulf News over phone from Kerala.
They included around 30 employees of the Dubai school, who are also on vacation in Kerala, he said.
“Two students and their families also came over. But they couldn’t see him as the funeral was already over. They prayed at his tomb and visited the family,” Shareef said.
Condolences have been pouring in for Razak, who was also on vacation to attend his daughter’s wedding which took place a week ago.
“There is a red alert in our district today and it was raining heavily in the morning. Still so many people came to pay tribute to him. Luckily, rain did not hamper the funeral ceremony.”
Shareef said Razak’s family was still in a state of shock and his wife (Shareef’s sister) and children have been devastated.
“We are trying to console them,” he said.
A condolence meeting was also held at the Dubai school where Razak worked for 10 years.
“All the staff members who are here gathered to pray for him. Many were in tears. He was very popular in the school. We never saw him without a smile,” said a senior employee of the school.
The father of three drowned after he jumped into the water to rescue his 16-year-old son and 12-year-old nephew who had fallen into the flood waters in a paddy field near Shareef’s house, where Razak’s newly wed daughter and husband were invited for lunch on Tuesday.
Though he rescued the children, Razak collapsed in water and could not swim to safety.
His family was staying in Shareef’s house as their own home was flooded for the past four days.
Razak’s house was also damaged in last year’s deluge and colleagues in Dubai supported him to renovate the building and helped contribute towards his daughter’s wedding.
