Married for 15 years, Indian tourists in Dubai die 13 days apart

After being happily married for 15 years, the lives of an Indian couple visiting Dubai for the first time came to a tragic end after the vehicle they were travelling in collided with a truck. While the accident killed the husband on the spot, his wife succumbed to heavy head injuries mid-air in an air ambulance.

The Indian tourist couple, Dinesh Kawad (39) and Neetu Jain Kawad (38), passengers of the minivan that was on its way to a desert safari, died 13 days apart from each other. The accident, which took place on January 22, claimed the lives of three tourists and the minibus driver.

Dinesh, who was seated on the front passenger seat, died on the spot with the Pakistani national driver, while his wife Neetu died mid-air in an air ambulance on February 5. The couple had two children, a nine-year-old daughter and an 11-year-old son, who are currently in India with their grandparents.

While Dinesh's body was repatriated back to his home town in Bellary immediately after his death, Neetu was admitted to Rashid Hospital where she fought for her life for 13 days. Her funeral took place on February 6 at 3pm in Bellary, India.

"A set of aged parents have lost their only son, and two small children have lost their parents. As a community, this incident has really shocked us.Everything that happened in a matter of seconds, has turned the lives of two small children upside down," said Rakesh Bohara, general secretary of Rajasthan Business and Professional Group (RBPG). Bohara, along with chairman Kesar Kothari, stepped into help the family.

The wife suffered severe trauma to her head and was allegedly pronounced braindead at the time of her arrival at the hospital. Her brother, cousins, and brother-in-law (Dinesh's brother) immediately flew to Dubai, and after almost 10 days of waiting for her condition to improve, and decided to transfer her to the Brains Neuro Spine Centre in Bangalore city, India.

"The family procured a discharge summary from the existing hospital, no-objection letter from the police, stating that she can fly, and a letter from Brains Neuro Spine Centre claiming responsibility for her treatment," says Bohara. The air ambulance took off at 2.30 pm on Monday and Neetu died mid-air in a matter of hours.

"It is said that she was fine during take-off and the first hour of the journey in the air ambulance (she was still on a ventilator), but I assume that the air pressure was too much for her, and she could've died an hour or two within take off," he adds.

Community members help in time of need

Community members in Dubai stepped in to help the family in time of need. Bohara said, "We are not related to them in anyway. The word about the accident and the couple's condition was sent around in a few community WhatsApp groups. When we heard the scale of the tragedy, we just had to help."

Praveen Shetty, the owner of Fortune Group of Hotels, provided free accommodation for family members who came to attend to the needs of Neetu. He said, "Rakesh is a good friend of mine, and when he said that the family needs help, I suggested that they stay in my hotel. It is very unfortunate that we lost Neetu."

Bohara also said, "Dinesh's father is 70-years-old and his mother is old as well. The children are too small to take care of themselves. It is said that the couple were happily married for 15 years."

Brigadier Saeed Hamad bin Sulaiman, director of Al Rashidiya Police Station, said that the accident had been caused due to negligence, over speeding and not leaving enough space in between the vehicles.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai

Dhanusha Gokulan

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com