Kerala survivor of Dubai crashlanding wins $1m jackpot

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When his phone rang on Tuesday, Ahmad Abdul Khadar’s first thoughts were, “Must be a relative calling to enquire about the accident.”

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When his phone rang on Tuesday, Ahmad Abdul Khadar’s first thoughts were, “Must be a relative calling to enquire about the accident.”

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Khadar, 62, was among 300 passengers who escaped death by a whisker when his flight crash landed at the Dubai airport last week.

It turned out to be arguably the most shocking, pleasantly that is, call he ever received — someone called from Dubai to inform that he has won$ 1million (around Rs 6.5 crore) in a Dubai duty-free raffle.

“For the lucky escape I have been praying to Almighty all these days. After the precious first gift (of life) I got another one... The latest gift has emboldened me to do more good things for the rest of my life,” he said.

Khadar, who had a habit of buying lottery tickets on journeys back home, had purchased one at the Dubai airport while returning to Kerala on Eid last month.

Khadar is working in the middle-east since 1978 and is employed as a fleet manager with a car dealer in Dubai.

One of his sons suffered a paralytic attack after a fall 16 years ago.

“My wife used to scold me for spending huge amount for raffles. I always consoled her, one day we will hit the jack port. I think this is my 17th lottery or so,” said Khadar.