Vietnam boat tragedy: Bodies of three Telugu tourists arrive at Hyderabad airport
Hyderabad, July 14
Mortal remains of three persons from Andhra Pradesh who were killed in a boat tragedy in Vietnam arrived at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport's cargo terminal here on Tuesday.
Andhra Pradesh Minister Kondapalli Srinivas received the bodies and consoled the family members.
Earlier, the bodies of Mudiam Sreedhar (Kadapa), Gelli Jayalakshmi (Machilipatnam), and Ravi Teja (Hindupur) reached the Mumbai Airport. After completing all legal formalities in Mumbai, the mortal remains were handed over directly to the family members.
The bodies were brought to Hyderabad from Mumbai by an IndiGo flight on Tuesday morning.
After meeting the bereaved families at the Hyderabad Airport, Minister Kondapalli Srinivas personally oversaw the arrangements to send the mortal remains to their respective hometowns.
The minister expressed deep condolences to the families and offered words of comfort and strength to the relatives and close associates.
Andhra Pradesh government arranged free ambulances to transport the mortal remains from Hyderabad to the victims' native villages.
The mortal remains of the three deceased Telugu tourists arrived at the Mumbai International Air Cargo Terminal at 9:35 p.m. on Monday (July 13).
All medical, customs, immigration, and cargo clearance formalities were completed expeditiously through seamless inter-agency coordination.
According to a release issued by the Andhra Pradesh government, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Embassy of India in Vietnam, Andhra Pradesh Bhavan, and other stakeholders made arrangements for the transportation of the mortal remains.
Three persons from Andhra Pradesh were among 15 Indians who died in the accident that occurred during a leisure trip organised by a mobile phone company for the families of its cell phone distributors from India.
One of the tourist boats carrying the group met with an accident near Phu Quoc Island, Vietnam, on Saturday (July 11).
The boat was carrying 32 passengers, of whom 15 lost their lives.
Gelli Kishore, husband of the deceased Gelli Jayalaksmi, was injured in the incident, and he has been undergoing treatment at a hospital in Vietnam.
All other Telugu tourists affected by the Vietnam boat tragedy had safely reached their respective destinations on Sunday night.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Really sad to hear this. How many more tragedies will it take for companies to ensure proper safety equipment on these 'leisure trip' boats? The distributors' families must be devastated. Poor Gelli Kishore, losing his wife and being in hospital himself.
Jai Hind to the coordination between ministries and state government. But this is no time for praise—only prayers for the departed souls. The tourism sector in Vietnam also needs stricter oversight, these boat accidents happen far too often.
Reading this at work and couldn't help but tear up. The mobile company should be held accountable for arranging such a risky trip without proper safety measures. I hope the injured man recovers fully. 🙏
The prompt response by the AP government is commendable—free ambulances and personal oversight by the minister. But the real question is: why were life jackets not mandatory on such boats? Our cultural festivals and tourism trips often overlook basic safety. Time to change that.
Deeply saddened. 15 Indians lost their lives on a holiday trip that should have been joyful. My thoughts are with the families of Mudiam Sreedhar, Gelli Jayalakshmi, and Ravi Teja. The coordination between India and Vietnam authorities was efficient, but prevention is key.
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