CHENNAI: Santhosh Kumar (47) never liked shutting his shop for days on end, and he almost didn’t make the Vietnam trip for that reason. But as fate would have it, the five days away from home cost him his life.
Had things gone as planned, he would have returned with the rest of the group on Sunday afternoon. Instead, his mortal remains reached India on Tuesday, along with those of 14 others killed in a speedboat accident near Vietnam’s Phu Quoc island on Saturday evening. The bodies were flown to Mumbai, before being sent to respective hometowns, including Chennai.
“Santhosh had travelled overseas once earlier, but this was the first time he had gone on a company-sponsored tour,” a relative told TNIE.
A native of Rajasthan, Santhosh lived in an apartment at Ponniammanmedu near Madhavaram for the past few years. A Lava distributor who also ran his own mobile phone business, Santhosh is survived by his wife and two children.
“When we came to know about his death, we did not inform his wife as she is diabetic and has high blood pressure. We told her he had been admitted at a hospital and would return soon. Only on Tuesday morning, when relatives started gathering at the house, were we forced to tell her the truth,” the relatives said.
Santhosh’s body reached his residence around 2 pm on Tuesday and was handed over to the family. His younger brother broke down as the ambulance doors opened. “The body will later be taken to Choolai for the final rites as per Jain customs,” a relative said.
Similar scenes played out at Kottakarai in Gummidipoondi, where the body of K Babu (52) reached home around 3 pm; his final rites began around 5 pm.
At Vellore, the body of B Vinay Kumar (45) reached home in the afternoon. Vellore tahsildar K Vadivel paid tributes on behalf of the district administration. His final rites will be held on Wednesday afternoon. Speaking to reporters, Vinay Kumar’s father-in-law, Prabhakaran, said,
“He had donated blood at least 80 times, and during the pandemic, he volunteered by carrying out various activities and, through a social service organisation called the Vasavi Club, which he ran with his friends. Our only disappointment is that he passed away at a time when he was progressing in life,” he said. Vinay Kumar is survived by his wife, Jayanthi and daughter Ananya.
Six more victims were brought home through Coimbatore International Airport — Senthil Kumar Jayavel of Pappireddipatti in Dharmapuri, Muruga Prabhu Arumugam of Palani in Dindigul, Sridhar Sundararajan of Ramakrishna Road in Salem, N Balaji (45) of Thiruvanaikoil, S Alagurajan (38) of E Pudur, and A Sheik Abdullah (55) of Tiruchy district.
In Palani, the body of A Murugaprabhu (44) reached his hometown on Tuesday evening and was placed outside his residence for the public to pay respects, before the cremation in Palani Adivaram.
In Tiruchy, TVK deputy speaker M Ravi Shankar, MP Durai Vaiko, MLA K N Nehru and Mayor Mu Anbalagan visited the victims’ families. Balaji’s body was kept at his residence in Thiruvanaikoil on Tuesday, with the last rites set for Wednesday.
Alagurajan’s body was taken to his native Vagaikulam in Madurai district. Sheik Abdullah’s body was kept at his home in Beema Nagar, and his final rites were performed at the Thuruppu Pallivasal cemetery there. Senthil Kumar is survived by his wife Poovizhi (40) and daughter Logasri (7).
On Monday, Lava Mobiles announced a compensation of `25 lakh each to the families of the victims.
(With inputs from Dheepthi OJ @ Vellore, S Sivaguru @ Coimbatore, R Kirubakaran @ Coimbatore, MP Saravaran @ Dindigul, and P Thiruselvam @ Tiruchy)