By Hassan Cheruppa

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH – Over 1,000 bereaved members of the Indian community gathered on Sunday to mourn the tragic death of Syed Qamarul Hasan, 58, and his wife Fauzia Iqtidar, aged 49, teachers of International Indian School Jeddah (IISJ) who had a fatal end in a horrific car crash. They were buried at Al-Rahma Cemetery in Old Airport Area in Al-Faiha District after funeral prayers at Al-Thunayyan Mosque in Al-Safa District after Asr prayer.

A large number of community members, including IISJ officials, teachers, non-teaching staff and students attended the funeral prayer and burial of the departed teachers. Their car had a head-on-collision with another speeding car, driven by a young Saudi, at around 10 p.m. on Tuesday near Briman flyover in the city. Fauzia and the Saudi citizen died on the spot while Qamarul Hasan was taken to intensive care unit of Al-Jedaani Hospital with critical injuries.

Amid prayers of the entire Indian community, Qamarul Hasan gave up his four-day long fight for life and breathed his last on Saturday. He was physical education teacher while Fauzia was the English language teacher in the Boys Section of the school.

Qamarul Hasan, who hails from Bijnor in the northern Uttar Pradesh state of India, and wife were living in New Delhi. They joined IISJ faculty more than two decades ago. They are survived by two sons – Syed Faiz Hasan, an engineering student at Jamia Millia Islamia and Syed Faris Hasan, a student at NIT in Kurukshetra, Haryana. They reached Jeddah to bid tearful adieu to their beloved parents.

IISJ remained closed on Sunday as a token of respect for the deceased teachers. All the annual examinations for the classes from LKG to VIII, scheduled on March 1, have been postponed and the new date will be announced later, according to a school circular.