Two Indian Seafarers' Bodies Returned After US Oman Strike

The body of Indian seafarer Shivanand Chaurasia, killed in a U.S. military strike on a commercial tanker off Oman, was returned to his home village in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, June 17. The repatriation followed a week of diplomatic protests by India over the incident, which resulted in the deaths of three Indian crew members.

Chaurasia was working as an engine fitter on the Palau-flagged tanker MT Settebello when it was struck on June 10 near Oman. The vessel had 24 Indian crew members on board. Twenty-one were rescued, while three Indian sailors went missing and were later confirmed dead. Their bodies were recovered on June 11. The remains of two of the deceased, Aditya Sharma and Shivanand Chaurasia, were repatriated to India on Wednesday, according to the Indian Embassy in Muscat. The body of the third victim, chief engineer Suresh Patnaala, was not mentioned in the embassy's statement.

Chaurasia's remains arrived at Delhi airport from Muscat early Wednesday morning and were later flown to Gorakhpur before being taken by road to Surauli village in Deoria district. As the body reached the village, family members, including his parents, wife and brother, broke down in grief....