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Vietnam boat tragedy: Bodies of three Andhra victims brought to hometown
The mortal remains of the three Andhra Pradesh tourists who died in the boat accident in Vietnam were brought back to their native places on Tuesday, with the state government coordinating their repatriation
The mortal remains of the three Andhra Pradesh tourists who died in the boat accident in Vietnam were brought back to their native places on Tuesday, with the state government coordinating their repatriation.
The bodies of Mudiam Sridhar (45) from Kadapa, Gelli Jayashri (35) from Machilipatnam and Nallapeta Ravi Teja (41) from Hindupur arrived at the cargo terminal of Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad at around 7.20 am via Mumbai. After legal formalities were completed in Mumbai, the bodies were flown to Hyderabad and transported to their hometowns in ambulances arranged by the Andhra Pradesh government.
State minister for NRI affairs Kondapalli Srinivas and officials of the Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society (APNRT) coordinated the repatriation process after receiving the bodies at the airport.
“The government will stand by the bereaved families and extend all possible assistance. We are taking initiatives to safeguard the interests of Non-Resident Telugus,” Srinivas said.
A pall of gloom descended on the family of Ravi Teja as his mortal remains reached his residence in Housing Board Colony in Hindupur town of Sri Sathya Sai district on Tuesday evening.
“The Vietnam trip marked Ravi Teja’s first-ever international journey. In fact, it also happened to be his first flight journey. He had never travelled by air before. Before leaving for Vietnam, he came to me and asked what flying would be like,” his cousin Ashwin Raj told reporters.
Ravi Teja worked as a distributor for a mobile phone company and is survived by his wife, Vedasri, and two daughters, Shloka and Sahasra.
“He was the only son of Adiseshayya and Sandhyarani. His father had passed away several years ago due to illness, leaving Raviteja as the family’s sole breadwinner,” Raj said.
He said Ravi Teja had left for Vietnam on July 8, and the family had prayed for his safe return. “We never imagined he would meet such a tragic end,” he said.
Equally emotional scenes unfolded in Kadapa, where hundreds of mourners gathered at Sridhar’s residence near the Old Bus Stand for a final glimpse of his mortal remains.
Sridhar’s wife, Dhanalakshmi, broke down on seeing her husband’s body.
“He was, in fact, not willing to go on the trip without me. He reluctantly went. He told me that he would disclose good news on his return on Sunday. But I got only this bad news,” she said.
She recalled speaking to him about an hour before the tragedy.
“He sounded very excited about his jolly ride in the sea. He was supposed to leave Vietnam by Saturday evening. But the tragedy struck in the afternoon,” she said.
She said her husband was a fitness enthusiast.
“He used to take a lot of care in maintaining his body fitness. He used to tell me he would take care of me all along his life. Now, there is nobody to take care of me and my kids,” she lamented.
Similar scenes were witnessed at the residence of Gelli Jayashri in Khajjalipeta, Machilipatnam, where hundreds of people gathered to pay their last respects.
Jayashri, wife of businessman Gelli Kishore, died in the accident, while Kishore continues to undergo treatment in a hospital in Vietnam.
“We are yet to get the updates of his health, though officials say he is out of danger,” a close family acquaintance said.
The three victims were part of a group of distributors from South India on an incentive tour organised by mobile phone manufacturer Lava International. The tragedy occurred on Saturday afternoon when a boat carrying 32 Indian tourists capsized off Phu Quoc Island, a popular tourist destination, after being caught in strong winds.
