Dubai: The mortal remains of Indian nurse and mother-of-two, Tintu Paul (36), who succumbed to her injuries following a car crash on Ras Al Khaimah’s (RAK) Jebel Jais mountains during the last Eid Al Fitr holidays, were repatriated to her hometown in the south Indian state of Kerala today.
The family was returning after an overnight camping trip on the mountains on May 2 when their car, driven by Kripashankar, went out of control and crashed. Tintu, who worked at RAK Medical Centre in Al Hamra, under the Arabian Healthcare Group, succumbed to her injuries on May 4.
Tintu’s husband Kripashankar K.S — who was also injured in the crash, along with his mother and the couple’s two sons — accompanied Tintu’s mortal remains back to their hometown. A relative of the deceased and social workers, who helped the family during the crisis, said the repatriation got delayed due to legal procedures.
Tintu’s Dubai-based cousin Basil Paul told Gulf News that Tintu’s sons and her mother-in-law, who were injured, were flown home about ten days ago. While the younger son, one-and-a-half-year-old Aadin, got discharged from hospital a day after the accident, the elder son, Kritin, seven, had sustained multiple fractures. Tintu’s mother-in-law also sustained a couple of fractures.
“They were taken to Medical Trust Hospital in Ernakulam. All are home now. Kritin was discharged yesterday [Wednesday],” Basil said.
Word of thanks
He thanked S.A. Salim, president of Indian Association Ras Al Khaimah, Salam Pappinissery, CEO of YAB Legal Services, and social workers Sreedharan Prasad and Pushpan Govindan for helping the family complete the legal procedures and making arrangements for the injured to fly back home. Prasad said: “All legal formalities have been completed and her [Tintu’s] husband could fly with the mortal remains on the Dubai-Kochi flight that departed this evening.”
Basil also thanked Kripashankar’s company and Tintu’s colleagues and her company for the support they provided.
Everlasting memories
In her memory, Tintu’s colleagues have kept her photo in every room of the medical centre where she had worked.
“It is still hard to believe that she is no more with us. Her voice keeps buzzing in our ears,” said Dr Sudeep Thomas, orthodontist.
“It’s really sad that her return to her home country had to be like this. I pray that such a fate should not await anyone,” said Dr Asma Mansoor, dentist.
Relatives, friends and colleagues of the couple attended a special prayer service for Tintu on Tuesday, Basil said. He said the couple had a love marriage. “But the families were very supportive. He had come over to the UAE in 2014 and she followed in 2016. It is a big tragedy for the entire family. But this is reality. We need to accept it and move on in life,” he added.
He said Tintu’s family back home is also struggling to come to terms with the tragedy. She will be laid to rest at St Francis Xavier’s Church cemetery in Cheranalloor after a funeral service on Friday morning.
