Noufal Moin Vetten, who worked as an office boy in a Sharjah school and lived in Ajman, had a ticket for the flight and checked in as per schedule. The Mallapuram Thirunavaya native’s visa was cancelled a week ago, so when he reached immigration after collecting his boarding pass, he was told to pay a fine of Dh1000 for overstay.

Since he had only Dh500, he called his school PRO who asked him to come back. The school promised to follow protocols and pay fines before sending him on a flight. Noufal now feels relieved though he is sad for all the passengers who were on the flight. He thanked God for being merciful.

Afsal Parrakodan, a resident of Abu Dhabi, was the second person who faced a similar situation. His work visa was cancelled about a week ago. Though he got his boarding pass, he did not have Dh1000 to pay the fine.

Like Noufal, he too was disappointed about missing the flight and being unable to return to his family in Kerala. Though a friend brought him the additional Dh500 he needed to pay, his baggage had been offloaded by then and the flight’s doors closed. He is thanking God for saving his life, and plans to fly home next week.

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An Air India Express flight from Dubai with 190 people on board under the Vande Bharat Mission overshot the tabletop runway at Karipur airport in Kozhikode on Friday night. The accident happened while landing at the airport due to heavy rains. The plane fell into a valley 35 feet below and broke into two portions, killing 18 passengers including 2 pilots.

US envoy Ken Juster has expressed his grief saying they are deeply saddened to hear the news of the accident. “On behalf of the U.S. Mission, we are deeply saddened by the news of the Air India accident in Kozhikode. The victims and their loved ones are in our thoughts and prayers,” tweeted the US Envoy

Expressing condolences to victims, Satoshi Suzuki, Japan’s ambassador to India, hoped that search and rescue operation would conclude soon. “My heart bleeds for the air accident of #AirIndiaExpress in Kozhikode and landslide in #Idukki. My thoughts are with those who lost their beloved ones and are injured. I hope search & rescue will conclude as quickly as possible,” he said.

While, Australian envoy Barry O’Farrell said his thoughts and prayers are with families of the victims. “Deeply saddened by the news of the Air India Express Plane accident in #Kozhikode. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims. @airindiain #KozhikodePlaneCrash,” O’Farrell tweeted

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