20 bodies brought from Kuwait: Remains moved to their homes

Kochi: The mortal remains of 20 Indians, who died in separate incidents in Kuwait, have been shifted to their native places. The bodies were brought to Cochin International Airport Ltd (Cial) by a special Kuwait Air flight around 10.40pm on Tuesday.Among the bodies was that of Santhana Selvam, an electrician who was killed after a drone reportedly fell on his workplace cabin. Most deaths were due to ailments or accidents, as per reports. The bodies were handed over either to relatives or agents, who airlift them, by Tuesday or Wednesday morning, said Cial authorities. "We completed the procedures before handing over the bodies by Tuesday midnight. As per our information, they all died in separate incidents in different parts of Kuwait in the past few days. The bodies couldn't be transported to India due to flight disruption owing to ongoing tensions in the Gulf," a Cial official told TOI. "It is among the highest number of bodies arriving at Cial in a day," he added.According to the agency transporting cadavers, 17 bodies were shifted to other states. Five bodies were transported to Delhi, five to Tamil Nadu, two each to Lucknow and Hyderabad and one each to Bengaluru, Agartala, Ahmedabad, Kozhikode, Kottayam and Alappuzha.Relatives of Selvam, from Anikurunthan in Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu, said his cremation was held in his village on Wednesday afternoon. "We received the body, transported from Kochi by road, around 12 noon on Wednesday," said B Karmegham, Selvam's cousin. "He had gone to repair a generator at the worksite, near Iran border, of the firm he worked for around 2.30am on March 30. While he was inside a shed, parts of a drone fell on it. On hearing the sound, his colleague, who was outside the shed managed to escape, but Selvam couldn't. He was brought dead to a nearby hospital in Kuwait," he said."Selvam was the family's sole breadwinner. He is survived by wife Kausalya, children Jaswin, 7, and Sai Uvania, 3; and parents Krishnan and Udaiyekal," he added.The body of A P Sunil Kumar from Kozhikode, hailing from Muyippoth in Cheruvannur in Kozhikode, who died of a heart attack on March 26, was brought home around 4am on Wednesday. "He worked as an office staff at a school in Kuwait. The body was originally scheduled to be brought home on April 29, but the flight was cancelled. The body was brought home on Wednesday morning and cremated," said Anoop K, a relative.