The family of 30-year-old marine engineer Herambh Karmarkar from Pune is awaiting the return of his mortal remains after he was killed in an attack on a Cyprus-flagged commercial vessel off the coast of Oman amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia.
According to the family, Karmarkar had messaged his wife shortly before the attack, saying their vessel had safely crossed the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important waterway at the centre of tensions between the United States and Iran.
The container ship GFS Galaxy was attacked early on Sunday while transiting the strait between Iran and Oman, a key global energy chokepoint. Karmarkar's family said he was on board the vessel at the time of the attack.
Following his death, his body was handed over to the Oman Navy.
"We are awaiting his mortal remains, which are currently with the Oman Navy. Herambh had been on the vessel for the last five months and was due to sign off soon," his father-in-law, Vivek Tandon, said on Wednesday.
Tandon said Karmarkar had messaged his wife at 2.49 am IST, saying the vessel had crossed the Strait of Hormuz safely.
Karmarkar is survived by his wife, mother and younger sister. He completed his marine engineering at the City of Glasgow College in the UK before joining the merchant navy, Tandon said.
The family declined to share further details.
(With inputs from PTI)