Journey of hope ends in tragedy for Bangladeshi family

NEW DELHI: What was meant to be a journey of hope for a life-saving kidney transplant ended in tragedy for a Bangladeshi family.Mohammad Nurul Amin (44), a transporter, travelled to Delhi to support his brother-in-law, Mosharaf Hossain (42), who was scheduled to undergo a kidney transplant at a hospital.

The two along with Hossain’s wife, Rahana (38), arrived in India on the night of June 2.Md Robiul (34), a relative of the family, told TOI that the prospective kidney donor and her daughter — both relatives of Hossain — also travelled from Dhaka to Delhi for the procedure.“On Wednesday morning before leaving for hospital, they were all having breakfast at the Hauz Rani bed and breakfast when the fire started,” Robiul said.

It claimed Amin’s life, while the donor, her daughter and Rahana remain on life support. Hossain, who is also injured, is in better shape than the rest. Amin is survived by his wife and three children.A pall of gloom enveloped the AIIMS mortuary, where police personnel, relatives of victims, translators and embassy officials were busy completing procedural formalities related to the postmortem examinations and repatriation of the bodies.

Those of Nigerian nationals David Atim and his mother, Esther Ngusoron Tuta, will be repatriated as no immediate family members are present in India. The two came to Delhi on May 11 to get Tuta’s brain tumour treated.“The surgery was done, and they were awaiting a follow-up visit to the hospital. They are suspected to have died due to suffocation,” an embassy official said, adding that Atim was reportedly planning to marry soon.Based on official records, 21 people have so far died, 12 among them foreigners. Apart from the two Nigerians and the Bangladeshi, three citizens of Kyrgyzstan — Tulkinov Khumoium, Makhpiratkhoon Kochkarova and Nargiza Khakimova — lost their lives.Ali Amer Mosa (Iraq); Mawombo Dikangu Leonard and Sita Khonde Beatrice of Democratic Republic of Congo; Ana Christina Alberto Nhantumbo and Tshipamba Achil Ntambue of Mozambique; and Liberian national Janjay N Roland are also dead.DNA profiles of all of them have been preserved as they cannot be matched in the absence of blood relatives in Delhi at this moment.