THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When news broke that Arun Babu, a 37-year-old resident of Nedumangad in Thiruvananthapuram, had gone missing in the Al-Mangaf building fire, his family clung to the hope that he might be injured and receiving treatment at a hospital.
However, their hopes were shattered when official confirmation arrived on Thursday afternoon, confirming that the Nedumangad native had succumbed to his injuries. He is survived by wife Vineetha, a son and a daughter.
Arun had returned to Kuwait eight months ago, where he worked as a shop administrator and purchaser with the NTBC group.
It was his mother's younger sister, Sheeja, who helped him get a job visa. Prior to the pandemic, Arun had worked in Kuwait for eight-years. When the world ended up staying indoors during the lockdown, Arun lost his job and had to return to Thiruvananthapuram.
The last time Arun spoke to his family was on Tuesday. Son of Madhavan Pillai and Ajitha, Arun worked as a labourer on his return to Thiruvananthapuram. When TNIE spoke to Ajitha, she was expecting good news. But within hours, the dreaded news came that Arun is no more.
"We didn't get any news on Arun, which gave us hope that he might have been admitted to one of the hospitals in Kuwait. But by afternoon, my friends there gave me the news that Arun had succumbed to injuries. Two of his roommates, Akshay and Dinesh, had a narrow escape from the fire mishap as they left for their early morning duty at 4 am. Along with them, Arun had been living on the third floor of the NTBC staff apartment complex," Sheeja told TNIE.
Sheeja works as a deputy manager at a money exchange in Kuwait. She is currently in Nedumangad on holiday and is mulling over going to Kuwait to repatriate the mortal remains of Arun.
