Bodies of Tamil Nadu victims in Vietnam boat tragedy start arriving

CHENNAI: The bodies of two of the 10 Tamil Nadu residents who died in the Vietnam tourist boat tragedy were brought to Chennai from Mumbai on Tuesday, as authorities began repatriating all the victims to their native districts.

Two bodies - those of Ravishankar (51) from Tiruvannamalai district and Vinayakumar (36) from Vellore district - arrived at Chennai airport on an IndiGo flight in the morning.

The bodies of Santhosh Kumar from Agaram in Chennai and Babu from Gummidipoondi in Tiruvallur district were scheduled to arrive on another IndiGo flight later in the afternoon.

Officials of the Tamil Nadu government paid floral tributes to the deceased at the cargo terminal of Chennai airport before handing over the bodies to family members and district authorities. Vellore MLA Vinoth Kannan also paid his respects.

Vinayakumar's body was handed over to his family and transported to Vellore in a special vehicle arranged by the State government.

As Ravishankar's family could not travel to Chennai, his body was handed over to district officials and sent to Tiruvannamalai by government vehicle.

Apart from the four bodies, the remaining six bodies of Tamil Nadu victims were being flown to Coimbatore from Mumbai and would be taken to their respective native districts in government-arranged vehicles, airport officials said.

The victims were among 15 Indians who lost their lives after a tourist boat carrying them capsized in Vietnam. The deceased included 10 from Tamil Nadu, three from Andhra Pradesh and two from Kerala.

Following the accident, officials of the Indian Embassy in Vietnam coordinated the repatriation of the bodies.

After the remains were flown to Mumbai on Monday night, immigration and other legal formalities were completed before they were handed over to officials from the respective States early on Tuesday.

According to officials, the Tamil Nadu government took steps to expedite the return of the victims' bodies to the State and coordinated with authorities in Vietnam and at Indian airports.

Speaking to reporters at Chennai airport, Prabhakaran, Vinayakumar's father-in-law, said the victim had travelled to Vietnam to attend a distributors' meeting organised by mobile phone manufacturer Lava. He said the fatal accident occurred while participants were travelling by boat to the island where the event was being held.

He thanked both the Union and Tamil Nadu governments, saying officials had remained in constant touch with the family from the time the accident was reported. He also appreciated the Indian Embassy in Vietnam for providing regular updates and assistance.

Prabhakaran added that after learning of a power outage in Vellore, district officials coordinated with the electricity department to arrange uninterrupted power through a generator to ensure the body could be preserved in a freezer box after reaching home. He said the family would remain grateful for the support extended during their time of grief.