Hundreds of mourners have attended janaza prayer at the Muslim Heritage Centre in Whalley Range, Manchester, for the funeral of three young men killed in a deadly car crash.
Hamzaa Iqbal, Munib Afzal Karim and Hamza Gujjar died after their car crashed on Wilbraham Road in Whalley Range in the early hours of Wednesday.
Hamzaa, 24, from Burnage, and Hamza, 20 from Bramhall, were pronounced dead at the scene. Their friend Munib, 21, from Heald Green, Stockport, was seriously injured in the crash and died in hospital the following day .
The men had been travelling home from Munib’s sister’s wedding when their car crashed.
Family and friends paid their respects to them at Victoria Park Mosque and the Muslim Heritage Centre in Whalley Range on Thursday. People from as far away as Scotland and the south east made the long journey to pray for the three friends. The funeral had to be held at two sites because of the huge number of people wanting to say goodbye to the three men.
Scores of people have paid tribute to Munib, Hamza and Hamzaa since the crash.
Awais Iqbal, Hamza’s brother, said: “Hamzaa Jacob Iqbal was the best thing that ever happened the Iqbal family. Our beautiful baby brother was turning 25 this June. We were truly blessed the fun, the smiles, the laughter, the tears and most importantly the love our brother brought to our lives.
“The loss of our youngest is something unimaginable. I don’t think there is a word that can explain the sadness and how empty we feel right now. . Words fall short of expressing my sorrow. However, the memories Hamza has left with us feel like it’s the only thing that keeps us close to him and a sense of his presence is felt. Allah SWT chose and honoured us to be apart of such an amazing personality, our popular Hamza which has touched so many different people from all walks of life.”
Police have previously said the hired car they were travelling in was going at “high speed.” It crashed into a signpost and two parked cars close to Whalley Range High School for Girls at around 3.15am on Wednesday April 27.
A 17-year-old who was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving has been bailed until June 11 pending further enquiries.
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