Abu Dhabi: Nearly 8 members of an Indian family, including an 84-year-old fully-paralysed man were safely evacuated from a fire that broke out at residential complex in the Navy Gate area in Abu Dhabi late Saturday night.
The family of eight, which includes Saju George John, his wife Kochumol Mathew, their four children and his elderly parents have been residing in the building for several years now. When the fire broke out at the apartment all the residents of the building rushed to safety including John’s four children. However when John was trying to bring his paralytic father down to safety he slipped and fell off the wheelchair thus suffering some head wounds. John’s mother who was right behind them, holding their passports and other important documents too felt suffocated due to the thick smoke emanating from the fire and was thus forced to sit down. However amid all the panicky moments, John recalls a brief moment of joy as he heard his father’s voice after several years when he called out for help having slipped from the wheel chair.
Their cries for help was heard by the civil defence authorities, since someone had opened the main door at that time and they helped bring the four out to safety.
John’s father was rushed to Khalifa Hospital for his head injuries. After conducting two MRI scans, the doctors assured John that his father had no internal injuries.
Reportedly, John’s father had collapsed in the bathroom on December 16, 2013 and suffered a severe cerebral haemorrhage that left him completely paralysed.
