THE tragic death of two teenage cousins who died within hours of each other saw family and friends fill a mosque to pay their respects.

Nearly a hundred people visited Keighley Jamia Masjid last night (Thursday) to attend the funeral of Keighley boy Ibraheem Asghar, 13, who died late Wednesday night at Manchester Children's Hospital, and his cousin Asad Shazad Hussain, 14, also from Keighley, who died in the early hours of Thursday morning at Leeds Children's Hospital.

"It was a very sad occasion," said Cllr Zafar Ali (Keighley Central), who has known the family for 50 years. "There were quite a number of relatives and friends who attended the funeral and burial in Utley Cemetery.

"It was full - there was no room at the mosque," he added. "There must have been nearly a hundred people there.

"It was a sad loss, the boys were so young. These boys were very close and the family is very close-knit.

"My heart goes out to them. They were a quiet but very well-respected and well-liked family.

"This loss has touched the hearts of the whole community.

"It's so sad to lose two kids in one family.

"I feel sorrow for the family. It's going to take time to heal.

"But we all come together as a community in times like this.

"I'm going to see the family today to pay my respects.

"There will be bereavement for three days for those who are paying their respects."

Cllr Mohsin Hussain (Keighley Central), who is a second cousin to both boys, said he was called by a family member Wednesday night and went to Manchester Children's Hospital, where young Ibraheem tragically passed away at around 11pm.

He then received a call with even more sad news that Asad had passed away at 4am at Leeds Children's Hospital.

"This is a very difficult time for the family," said Cllr Hussain said last night. "They've both been poorly since birth and they've been in and out of hospital but in the past two weeks they've been very ill. Both had been on oxygen from an infection caused by Strep A."

However, Cllr Hussain praised the care that both boys had received at Manchester and Leeds children's hospitals.

"These hospitals have done a fantastic job. They've shown a tremendous amount of empathy. I commend their work."

 

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