Abid only remembers a deafening blast. The next moment, his close colleague and friend lay motionless on the ground. Still traumatised, the young Malayali expat has not yet come to terms with the horrific gas cylinder explosion near Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai that claimed the life of 27-year-old Shijin Paul.

"I still cannot believe it," Abid said, his voice choking with emotion. "We both ran out of the building together after hearing there was a fire downstairs. Shijin was just two to three metres ahead of me. Suddenly, there was a blast. I do not know how he lost his life while I survived."

The Indian Consulate in Dubai confirmed the deceased as Shijin Paul, a resident of Kottarakkara in Kerala's Kollam district. The tragedy occurred on Monday afternoon. Dubai Civil Defence responded swiftly, bringing the fire under control within minutes, but the damage was already done.

The incident unfolded when a fire broke out on the ground floor of the car showroom. Keeping calm, the staff began evacuating the building. While those outside were actively trying to douse the flames using fire extinguishers, a gas cylinder exploded. In the ensuing chaos and panic, Abid did not immediately realise that Shijin, walking just ahead of him, had been fatally injured. It was only after they reached the hospital that Shijin was declared dead. Shijin had joined the firm in November last year as a multimedia marketing specialist, quickly becoming a beloved colleague known for his vibrant social media reels and videos.

Shijin married his partner of eight years in 2025. Deeply devoted to his wife, he was eagerly planning to bring her to Dubai on his next visit home. To make their future life together more comfortable and to avoid an exhausting daily commute involving multiple buses in the harsh summer heat, Shijin had only recently moved to a new accommodation closer to his workplace. His sudden demise has shattered his family back home. Relatives and friends in Dubai are now working closely with local authorities and the consulate to complete the necessary legal formalities to repatriate his body to Kerala as soon as possible.