Little Irfan, last survivor of Karikkakom school van accident, dies

Thiruvananthapuram: Seven years after a school van fell into a river at Karikkakom, the last survivor of the tragedy died of consequent complications. Irfan, aged 11, died in a private hospital in the city on Monday. His body was cremated in the Juma Masjid in the afternoon.

Six children and their caretaker died on February 17, 2011 when the mini van fell into the Parvathi Puthanar. All the children had gone to the Little Heart kindergarten at Petta. The river did not have a protective wall at the stretch where the accident happened.

Irfan, the son of Shajahan and Sajini of Karikkakom, went into coma, with a head injury and inflammation in the lungs. He recovered after treatment at the Vellore medical college in Tamil Nadu. He was later admitted to a hospital in Thiruvananthapuram after he complained of breathlessness.