Mortal remains of couple killed in Vietnam boat tragedy arrive in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 14 (PTI) The mortal remains of two Keralites who died in the boat tragedy in Vietnam arrived here on Tuesday morning. The bodies of Kottarakkara natives A C Thomas (57) and his wife Loveni Thomas (56) arrived at the Thiruvananthapuram airport in the morning and after completion of official formalities, they will be transported by ambulance to their hometown in Kottarakkara. Teary-eyed relatives stood around the two coffins at the cargo area of the airport here as the official formalities of handing over the bodies were carried out. Kerala Ministers P C Vishnunadh and C P John along with Congress MP Kodikunnil Suresh were also present at the airport to receive the bodies and paid tributes to the couple by placing wreaths on the coffins. The bodies were flown from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram on an Air India flight. According to Vietnamese media reports, 15 Indian tourists were killed in the accident on Saturday. The speedboat was carrying 32 Indian tourists and four crew members when it capsized about 400 metres off Hon May Rut Ngoai, an island in the An Thoi archipelago off the coast of Phu Quoc, according to Vietnamese news portal VN Express International. PTI KH