A man who survived the dramatic crash of Flight EK521 bought a winning lottery ticket before the flight and is now a millionaire.
Indian national, Mohammad Basheer Abdul Khadar, works in the UAE and bought a ticket before flying home to see his family. His visit home for Eid this year was no different.
But soon after he survived the crash on his return flight - which he called a "miracle" - he also became a lottery winner thanks to a ticket bought at the same airport, Dubai International. Furthermore, Mr Khadar is just about to retire.
“I value the escape as a more precious gift from God and I knew God saved me for some specific purpose,” Mr Khadar told Gulf News.
He told the newspaper he now wants to use the money to for charitable purposes in his home state of Kerala, southern India.
“I am blessed to have finally won with Dubai Duty Free and can’t wait to share the news with my family. If you ask me about my plans, I obviously want to help the children in Kerala who are less fortunate than others and need some financial help and medical support”.
Mr Khadar said he felt like surviving the plane crash was like being given a “second life” by God and it was his duty to use his time and money well.
“I don’t want to give it to a charity or build a business,” he said. “I want to go out and find people who really need help and give them money. I was poor, and I know what people go through.”
Mr Khadar first moved to the UAE for work in 1978 and initially worked for a dredging company, according to the Khaleej Times. He is now the fleet administrator for a car dealer, where he began working as a driver in 1995.
