by Ronnie Nathanielsz
Two young boys and their aunt have been killed in a highway accident while en route to Bolton, England to attend the wedding of boxing champion Amir Khan’s cousin on Christmas Day.
In an exclusive story by the British newspaper The Sun, the boys were identified as four year old Arsalaan Habib and his ten year old brother Adnan who were described by their family as their “precious jewels.”
Also killed in the crash was the boys aunt, 32 year old Bushra Tazarib.
The Sun reported that the boys mother Parveen, who was driving and 17 year old sister Misbah, survived the crash. They were in an eight-car convoy when their red Ford Focus careened off the highway, went up an embankment and slammed into a tree.
They were on their way to Bolton in Lancashire where Khan lives for the wedding of his second cousin Rabia Khan.
Khan told The Sun of his “despair” when he learned while at the wedding that the boys were on their way to his cousin’s wedding although he did not know them personally since they were from the groom’s side.
The Sun quoted Khan who said “one minute everyone at the wedding was joyous – the next it had turned into despair.”
Khan who won the vacant WBC silver light welterweight title when Carlos Molina retired in the 10th round just ten days before Christmas said “to hear that two young children and their aunt had been killed on their way to the wedding was utterly heartbreaking. We were all numb, no one knew what to say. Some people actually left the wedding service to pay their respects and others were in tears. It was one of the most harrowing things I’ve ever experienced. I am just so, so sorry.”