Hyderabad: Mohammed Yousuf Ali, an Indian techie who died in the attack on Riyadh airport, had called his family to Saudi Arabia for ‘Umrah’ and they were about to leave for the holy city of Madina when the airport came under attack.
Yousuf Ali (46), an IT engineer from Hyderabad employed in Riyadh for the last 10 years, had called his wife and three children to Saudi Arabia about 10 days ago to perform ‘Umrah’ (mini pilgrimage).
According to information received by his relatives here, Yusuf Ali, his wife, two sons, a daughter and his aunt were at King Khalid International Airport on Sunday. As they were waiting in the lounge to board a flight to Madina, the airport was hit by a missile fired by Houthis.
The debris fell on Yousuf, his family members and other ‘Umrah’ pilgrims. The techie was critically injured and was admitted to a hospital, where he later succumbed.
The Indian embassy in Riyadh on Sunday night confirmed that an Indian died in the attack.
Yousuf’s sons — 18-year-old Aman Ali and 16-year-old Wasi Ali — were injured. Aman underwent knee surgery while his brother lost three of his toes. Both are students in Hyderabad.
The techie’s wife, Sameera, and their 11-year-old daughter, Maryam, a student of Class 6 in a school in Hyderabad, escaped with minor injuries.
On receipt of the information about Yousuf’s death, his relatives and friends reached his residence at Mehdipatnam.
One of the relatives said the last rites of Yousuf are likely to be performed in Riyadh.
Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi urged Minister for External Affairs S. Jaishankar to provide every possible assistance to the family.
The MP said he was in touch with Yousuf’s brother-in-law in Riyadh.
Another man from Telangana was also injured in the attack, which claimed 13 lives and left 300 injured.
Shaik Saeed (42) from Kamareddy district, who was employed at a café at the airport, was injured when the debris fell on him. He was reportedly admitted to King Fahad Military Hospital and was undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit.
Saeed’s two brothers are also employed in Saudi Arabia.
Eleven Indians were among those injured in the attack.
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy said in a post on ‘X’ that five of the injured were undergoing treatment while others have been discharged.
“Our Embassy officials have visited all hospitals where Indian nationals injured in the attack have been admitted. As mentioned earlier, 1 Indian national unfortunately passed away today, 3 are in ICU but stable, 2 more are admitted in normal wards while others have been discharged,” the Embassy said.
“We thank the Saudi authorities for the medical care provided to the injured Indian nationals and assure the families that the Embassy will provide all possible support,” it added.
(IANS)
