HUBBALLI: A family residing in Ganeshpet, Hubballi, is shattered after the sole breadwinner died in the bus crash near Madina in Saudi Arabia on Sunday night. Abdul Ghani, 55, was among the 45 Indian passengers who died in the accident.
Ghani was working as a driver in Dubai for the past two decades. Last week, he had joined a friend and his family from Hyderabad for the Umrah pilgrimage. After completing the visit to Mecca, Ghani had called his family in Hubballi and informed that he was to leave for Madina. The bus in which he was travelling was hit by a oil tanker.
“We heard about the accident and felt sad for the deceased, especially the children. We had no clue Abdul was also on the same bus, since all the deceased were from Telangana. But on Monday morning, police officials from Hyderabad called to inform us about Abdul’s death, but we still did not believe,” a grieving family member said.
Two months ago, Abdul’s brother Fairoz Ghani had joined the same hotel in Dubai where Abdul used to work. His brother confirmed Abdul’s death after visiting the hospital in Madina. He also met officials from the Indian Embassy in Jeddah.
Arif Bhadrapur, a former corporator from Hubballi, said the Karnataka Waqf Board and Waqf and Minority Welfare Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan have extended help to the family. “As the bodies of the deceased are badly burnt, it was decided to bury them in Saudi Arabia. The family requested assistance from the government to attend the last rites. Three members of the Ghani family will be flying to Saudi for the funeral,” he said.
Abdul is survived by his aged mother, wife and four children. He visited Hubballi once a year or in six months.