THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Puliyarakonam, a sleepy hamlet on the outskirts of the city, had a sleepless night on Sunday as four of its natives met with a tragedy in Sultanate of Oman on the day.
The wait by the dear ones for the body of Anil Kumar, 35, Vishnu, 42, Prasad, 34 and Johnson Gomez, 43, continued even as a day passed after their sad demise, along with that of Suji Krishna, 29, of Kallara. Das from Marthandam in Kanyakumari and an Omani national also lost their lives in the accident.
The day witnessed moving scenes at the homes of the departed while waiting for the arrival of their bodies.
“We are in constant contact with our embassy in Muscat. Our officials are trying hard to speed up the procedures,” An official from the Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry informed this paper.
According to witnesses, four of the men had died on the spot, while two succumbed to their burns in hospital, when two pick-up vans collided with each other at Habbi, near Bahla, in the governorate of Dakhiliyah. Four bodies are beyond recognition as the vehicles caught fire following the collision. Four bodies are kept at the Bahla hospital, while two are at the Nizwa hospital.
All the deceased worked for a construction company and were travelling in a twin-cabin pick-up from the worksite to their residential camp at Mammur.
The Omani company that employed these Indians from Kerala has initiated procedures to repatriate the bodies.