Malappuram: As Pang mourns the loss of nine lives in the Valparai tragedy, P Hasnath and A Gopalan are left grappling with the haunting realisation that a trip they missed has taken away their colleagues and friends forever.

Hasnath, a teacher at the school, had stayed away from the school’s staff trip this year as she was preparing for her Hajj journey. Gopalan, an attendant at Pang Government LP School, had chosen to stay away from the trip due to his son’s visit from the Gulf.

Every year, teachers, staff and their families organise outings together. Recently, they had gone on a trip to Ooty with students and returned safely. Unable to grapple with the unexpected tragedy that befell upon her colleagues during this year’s trip, Hasnath recalls the happy WhatsApp status shared by headmistress Ajitha from the bus.

The teachers had formed a separate WhatsApp group to coordinate the staff tour, and a Google Meet was held the other day to finalise plans. Food had been arranged for 3.30 am, around the time the group is believed to have set out from Pang.

Shakeena joined the group as she lived near the school. Her daughter Masneen, a former student of Pang School, was also on the trip and survived with injuries. She was known to all the teachers.

“It is still hard to believe. Many of those I worked with were on the traveller. I don’t know who is safe and who is not,” said Gopalan.

When the trip was planned, Gopalan, one of the senior-most employees of the school, and his wife Jalaaja were also invited. Though they wished to go, they could not join due to personal reasons. Their son Sajith is scheduled to return from the Gulf on April 21, and they had to prepare for his arrival. Gopalan also cited heart-related health issues as a reason for opting out.

As soon as news of the accident broke, Gopalan rushed to the school premises. Sitting there in shock, he kept praying in silence that what he had heard would not be true.