A GRIEVING father today described his overwhelming sadness over the sudden death of his “happy and friendly” ten-year-old son.Jamil Rahman died suddenly on a flight headed to Dubai just 30 minutes before the plane was due to land.

A GRIEVING father today described his overwhelming sadness over the sudden death of his “happy and friendly” ten-year-old son.

Jamil Rahman died suddenly on a flight headed to Dubai just 30 minutes before the plane was due to land.

The popular Ipswich youngster was on his way to Bangladesh with his mother Ruhela Begum, brother Jabir, 8, and 18-month-old sister Summayyah, on a long-anticipated family holiday when he began to feel unwell.

Within a few hours he developed a temperature and died before he could receive medical help.

Malik Rahman, 30, his devastated father, had stayed behind to work at the family restaurant, Koh-i-Noor in Upper Orwell Street, Ipswich.

Today he said he was at a loss to understand what had happened and how he was going to cope without his son.

He said: “We dropped him off at the check-in desk and everything was fine and normal.

“My wife said it happened with half an hour to go before they landed in Dubai.

“He felt ill for a couple of hours. He kept telling his mum he had a temperature and he would not eat anything.”

The family had been travelling to Sylhet in Bangladesh to visit Mrs Begum's ill father and other relatives. Their Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight was due to stop in Dubai before they continued on to Bangladesh.

Jamil's mother, brother and sister returned to Ipswich on Wednesday night, having spent two days in Dubai while a post mortem was carried out on the Sidegate Primary School pupil's body.

As the family, from Shaftesbury Square, near Rope Walk in Ipswich, prepares for a Muslim funeral, Mr Rahman said he had been left inconsolable.

Since Jamil's death, he had taken to wearing his son's school jumper draped around his shoulders and had even slept in his bed to feel close to him.

He said: “I don't know how I'm going to have a normal life again.

“I was worried about my daughter going because she is only 18 months - I didn't think one of my sons would go away from me.

“He was a happy kid. He was doing very well and always wanted to go out to see his friends.

“He was always friendly. He's got loads of friends in school.

“I want my kids near me now. I will never let them go away again. Every father wants their kid to have a good life, not at ten years old to be taken away.”

While the cause of Jamil's death is not yet known, he had suffered medical problems from birth. He was born prematurely and suffered liquid on the brain.

Doctors put a shunt in his head which drained the fluid and during his first five years he paid regular visits to hospital. But his father said in the past five years his health had improved markedly and he was making excellent progress.

“He had a difficult start in life but he got to be a nice caring boy.”

Do you want to pay tribute to Jamil Rahman or send a message of support to his family? Call The Evening Star newsdesk on 01473 324788 or e-mail starnews@eveningstar.co.uk.

A DAY before his death, Jamil Rahman had been playing football with his friends like he did every Sunday.

He was excited about his holiday with his mother, brother and sister and at the prospect of seeing his grandparents in Bangladesh.

His father Malik had bought him his first mobile phone the day before he left and he said: “He was always energetic and happy.

“Before the trip we even went to the doctors to get medicine and the doctor said he was fine.”

Now Jamil's family has extended an open invitation to anyone who knew their beloved son to join them in saying farewell to him.

Mr Malik said he planned to open his family's restaurant, the Koh-i-Noor in Upper Orwell Street to hold a celebration of his son's life.

He said: “On his funeral day I want to invite everybody to come to the restaurant.

“I want to see English, Indian, Bangladeshi - everybody at my son's funeral.”

Mr Malik is the chef at the restaurant, which is run by his brother Abdul Mohil.

Mr Mohil and Abdul Shipon, Mr Malik's other brother, both travelled to Dubai after Jamil's death to bring his body home and to support Jamil's mum Ruhela.

Following a request from Jamil's family The Evening Star will publish details of his funeral once it is arranged.

STAFF and students from Sidegate Primary School are in mourning today following the sudden death of popular pupil Jamil Rahman.

Glowing tributes were paid to the “caring and enthusiastic” student as the entire school struggled to come to terms with losing one of its favourite friends.

David Randall, who was Jamil's favourite teacher at the Sidegate Lane school, spoke on behalf of the whole school.

He said: “Jamil was a caring, enthusiastic and popular child, who took every opportunity to involve himself in the Sidegate school community.

“In particular I remember his warm sense of humour and his ever present smile.

“He possessed a deep desire to learn and was justifiably proud of the success he achieved at Sidegate school.

“He had a deep love and affection for his family in Ipswich and in Bangladesh and often spoke of his excitement at the prospect of visiting them over the holiday period.

“Our thoughts now are with his family, and as a school community we mourn a life tragically cut short.”

Rosalind Turner, Suffolk's director for children and young people, said she would remember Jamil as an example of how young people should be.

She said: “On behalf of Suffolk County Council we are shocked and saddened to learn about the tragic passing of Jamil Rahman and offer our heartfelt condolences to all of his family and friends.

“Of course Jamil's family will experience a terrible grief at his loss, beyond almost anything most of us can imagine.

“But Jamil's death is a real tragedy also for everyone who knew him at school and elsewhere. To lose such an obviously successful and enthusiastic learner, with such a contribution to make to his local and wider community is a tragedy for all of us.

“Our thoughts are entirely with his parents and his family. We hope that his loving, committed life will be an example to everyone who knew him, and to the many others who now know of him.

“Jamil was clearly a lovely example of what a young person should be.”

Students and staff at Sidegate primary will be offered special support when the school returns from the Easter break to help them come to terms with the loss of Jamil.