Indian-origin doctor among two killed in UAE plane crash: 'Very ambitious, helped people study abroad'

Sulaymaan Al Majidm, an Indian-origin doctor, was among the two people who lost their lives in a light aircraft crash in UAE, on Sunday.

A light aircraft, operated by the Jazirah Aviation Club, crashed off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah, one of the UAE's seven emirates. The crash occurred shortly after takeoff, near the Cove Rotana Hotel along the beach.

Sulaymaan was a 26-year-old clinical fellow at the County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust.

Accorrding to Khaleej Times, as honorary secretary and later co-chair of the Northern Resident Doctors Committee of the British Medical Association (BMA), Sulaymaan spearheaded efforts to secure fair pay and redefine "junior doctors" as "resident doctors".

“We were looking forward to the New Year as a family, making plans to celebrate together. Instead, our lives have been shattered. Sulaymaan was the light of our lives, and we don’t know how to move forward without him,” said his father Majid Mukarram.

Arshad Khan, a business partner of Sulaymaan’s father, said that he was very ambitious, trying to help people from the UAE study abroad by building an online platform to guide them through preparations and challenges.

The aviation authority said that initial reports suggest the glider lost radio contact and later attempted an emergency landing. Despite resuscitation efforts, both occupants succumbed to their injuries.

The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) stated that its Air Accidents Investigation Section received a report about the incident, indicating that work teams and relevant authorities are continuing their investigation to determine the causes of the accident.

Meanwhile, in another development, South Korean officials said they will conduct safety inspections of all Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by the country's airlines, as they struggle to determine what caused a Jeju Air plane crash that killed 179 people a day earlier.

The Muan crash is South Korea's deadliest aviation disaster since 1997, when a Korean Airlines plane crashed in Guam, killing 228 people on board.