THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After a seven-year battle for survival, Irfan, a survivor of the Karikkakom school bus accident of 2011, succumbed to injuries on Monday.
The 12-year-old had been suffering from complete memory loss and other injuries, besides the disability to walk, following the accident.
Irfan, an only child, experienced breathing trouble at 7 am on Monday. Though his parents rushed him to KIMS Hospital, he passed away around 9 am. The body was later taken to his residence for paying homage and was laid to rest at a mosque at Pettah at 3 pm.
Tourism and Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, AICC general secretary Oommen Chandy and his wife visited Irfan’s residence and consoled the family.
On February 17, 2011, a school van carrying 12 students to their school, Little Hearts Kindergarten in Pettah, plunged into the open Parvathy Puthanar canal near Karikkakom.
Five children – Arsha Baiju, Kiran, Rafiq, Ujjwal, Malavika Achu – and the maid Bindu died in the mishap. The presence of weed in the canal had hampered rescue operations turning the accident fatal.
Irfan, then five, was rescued by local divers and hospitalised. Since then, he was wheelchair-bound and suffered memory loss due to brain damage. Though he underwent various treatment, including acupressure and physiotherapy, he was unable to walk without support.
The previous UDF Government had provided Irfan’s family with a new residence at Jawahar Nagar in Karikkakom and also gave Irfan’s father Shahjahan a government job.
There were no walls on both sides of the canal. The accident took place around 9.30 am. The van was reportedly moving at a high speed due to which it fell into the canal which runs parallel to the road.