RAMANATHAPURAM/NEW DELHI: A day after Santhana Selvam, a Tamil working in a Kuwait firm, was killed in an Iranian attack on a power and water desalination facility in the Gulf country, his family on Monday sought the state government’s help to bring the body back to India.
With the death of the 36-year-old from Ramanathapuram, the total number of Indian fatalities in the West Asia conflict has gone up to eight since the hostilities began on February 28.
According to a petition submitted by Selvam’s family members to Ramanathapuram Collector, Santhana Selvam had been working in Kuwait for more than a decade at Al Dhow Engineering General Trading & Contracting Company.
The man from Anikurunthan village at Mudukulathur block was the sole breadwinner of his family and is survived by his wife and two children.
Selvam was killed while waiting at rest house for a vehicle
In the petition submitted to the collector, his wife Kousalya said that officials from the Indian Embassy informed the family over phone on Monday morning about his death.
“We were devastated by the news,” Kousalya said. Speaking to the TNIE, a relative of the deceased who is also employed in Kuwait, said, “Selvam completed his shift on Sunday at the desalination unit and was waiting at the rest house for a vehicle to return to his accommodation. A missile struck a nearby area, causing severe damage to the rest house. He sustained grievous injuries and died on the spot.”
Describing the situation in Kuwait as tense, he added, “We are safe for now. We hope that the situation calms down soon.”Indian Ambassador to Kuwait, Paramita Tripathi, visited the central mortuary in Kuwait on Monday where the victim’s remains were brought. The embassy said that it is in touch with the family and is coordinating with Kuwaiti authorities for the swift repatriation of the body.