Johnny and Beena were waiting for their daughter Jobina's call from Saudi Arabia on Friday evening. When they last spoke to her, she was boarding the car that would take her back to her hostel after a day out shopping. However, 10 minutes after that call ended, she died in an accident along with three other women who were travelling with her.

The accident occurred around 4.45 pm Saudi time on the Taif-Rania highway in Saudi Arabia, killing all four passengers and the Saudi national who was driving the vehicle. The deceased from Kerala have been identified as Jaisymol Mathew, 46, a native of Ayarkunnam in Kottayam, and Jobina Johnny, from Kurumalloor in Kottayam. The Tamil Nadu natives have been identified as Vijayalakshmi Jagadeesh, 37, from Anna Satya Nagar, and Hepsiba Devamani, 33, from Pattukottai in Thanjavur.

The four women were working as nurses in the Al Owaylah region, a rural area. Their hospital allowed them to take a sponsored trip to nearby Rania city every month for shopping and other activities. That was what they were doing on Friday, their day off.

"After completing her shopping, Jobina got on a quick call with her family," their neighbour Sobin Joy told Onmanorama. Calling her parents whenever she got the time had become a habit for Jobina. "When she wasn't working, she would be on call with her family," Sobin said.

However, shortly after Friday's call ended, the family was informed that she had been involved in an accident. "They tried calling her multiple times after that, but the phone was switched off. This sent them into a state of panic," he said.

"The family is crushed. They were on call with her minutes before the accident," Sobin said. “In fact, they were expecting her to call them back once she reached her room,” he added.

According to Sobin, Jobina had been financially supporting her family. Her father was an office stationery distributor, while her mother worked as an ASHA worker. "She was a smart girl. They educated her and sent her abroad, hoping that she would be able to support them financially. But then this happened," he said.

For Jaisymol's family, which was already grieving the death of her husband's father, the news came as a crushing blow. While her husband, Freddy Jose, ran a business back home in Kottayam and stayed with their children, Jaisymol worked abroad to support the family. The couple had two daughters and a son.

"She had been working really hard in Saudi for 19 years now and was set to return after completing this term," Deepu, the councillor at Kidanjoor panchayat, told Onmanorama.

While authorities were able to contact Jaisymol's family, they were unable to reach Jobina's relatives. So they contacted their friend Ansu, who was visiting her home in Kottayam.

"She was rattled after hearing the news. So I took Jobina's brother's number from her and informed him of the accident," Ansu's husband Jijo told Onmanorama. "But I could not inform him that she had died. I only passed on the news of their death to a neighbour," he said.

For Ansu, who worked at another dispensary nearby, the news was shocking. "We would often meet every month and call every week. We don't go that long without talking to each other," she told Onmanorama. She said all the women would often meet during their monthly shopping outings, like the one they were on Friday.

According to Ansu, reports suggest that the accident occurred when a vehicle driven by a Saudi national veered off the road and rammed into the car in which the women were travelling. However, she said they were yet to receive further details about the incident.