Deoria (UP), Sep 24 A 23-year-old seafarer from UP’s Deoria district was killed in a missile attack on a commercial ship near the Strait of Hormuz off Oman’s eastern coast, leaving his family and village in mourning on Thursday.
Suraj Yadav, son of Om Prakash Yadav and a resident of Karmanjipur Ahirwati Tola village under the Gauri Bazar police station, had travelled to Oman on August 19 through a Mumbai-based company to work aboard a commercial vessel, his uncle Awadhesh Yadav said.
The ship was travelling from Oman to Bahrain when Suraj, a wiper, last spoke to his family. He had told them that the vessel would return to Oman after loading cargo.
The Indian Embassy in Oman on X said the merchant vessel, MV Cape Dao, came under attack while transiting towards India on Wednesday.
Union Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said all surviving crew members, including the 19 Indian nationals, have been safely evacuated by the Royal Navy of Oman and are currently ashore.
“The government will ensure that the mortal remains of Suraj Yadav are brought home with full dignity, and every possible support is extended to his next of kin,” Sonowal said on X.
Suraj’s mother, Pushpa Devi, has been inconsolable since receiving the news and is unable to speak properly due to shock, his uncle said.
His father, who works in Kuwait and had gone there about three months ago, has left for home.
Suraj was the eldest of four brothers and was unmarried. His three younger brothers — Sunny, a Class 10 student, Sahil, a Class 9 student, and Sameer, a Class 6 student — live with their mother and grandfather in the village.
On Thursday, relatives, neighbours and villagers gathered at the family home to mourn Suraj’s death.
Ramesh Chandra Yadav, a neighbour, said Suraj was a bright student who had cleared the written examination and interview for a Merchant Navy job and had joined only on August 19.
“We first heard on Wednesday afternoon that the ship was in the Hormuz area and that it had been hit by a missile and the boy was injured. Later, we were told that he had died,” Ramesh said, breaking down while speaking to PTI Video.
Awadhesh said Suraj had studied up to Class 12 while staying with him in Gauri Bazar.
“I urge the government to take comprehensive measures to protect Indians working on ships in conflict-prone waters, because another such incident had recently occurred in the region and now this happened,” he said.
The latest death comes months after another seafarer from Deoria, Shivanand Chaurasia, was killed in an attack on the Palau-flagged tanker Settebello off the Oman coast in June.
Twenty-four Indian crew members were aboard that vessel, of whom 21 were rescued. Chaurasia and two others were later confirmed dead.
Following attacks on merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz in July, the Centre reviewed the safety of Indian seafarers working in conflict-sensitive regions.
A high-level review chaired by Sonowal launched the ‘Seafarer-First’ initiative to protect Indian sailors in conflict zones like the Strait of Hormuz.
(PTI News)
