'Don't worry papa, I'm safe...'; Malayali Nibin's last words to family before getting killed in Hezbollah missile attack

KOLLAM: On Monday around 12.30 pm, Nibin spoke to his father on the phone from Israel, it was exactly two hours before the missile attack.

“Don’t worry papa, there is nothing of concern happening here” This was Nibin’s last words to his father, Anthony Maxwell.

Anthony Maxwell made it a routine to enquire about the situation with Nibin as tensions always prevailed in the region. Nibin also used to call back home and he always shrugged off such dangers and asked his family not to worry, may be an attempt to not put pressure on his family despite knowing the reality.

"Isn't the Israeli Defence Force camp nearby, so there's nothing to be afraid of," Nibin last informed his family over the phone. Whenever Nibin calls his family back home, his five-year-old daughter Amiya rushes to answer her father. But on his last call home, surprisingly Amiya was not in the house.

Nibin’s brother was first informed about the injury in the missile attack at evening 4:30 pm. Hearing the news, Nibin's family in Panamoottil Carmel cottage started prayers and continued it till late at night. However, by 12:45 pm, the news of Nibin’s death reached his family. Nibins’s wife Fiona collapsed upon hearing the news while his mother Rose still is yet to recover from the shock.

After completing his ITI studies, Pat Nibin Maxwell went to Muscat on a labour visa as he failed to secure a job in India. His wife's family has been in Israel for years and it was through them that he got a job at a farm in Israel. He arrived in Israel last January.