The bodies of five workers from Tamil Nadu who died on Friday in a boiler blast at a sugar mill in Ethiopia were brought to Chennai airport on Monday.
The relatives of the workers — Muthu Krishnan (40), Devadoss (40), Muruganantham (20), Devendaran (32) and Velraj (27) — initially refused to claim the bodies that arrived at 8 a.m. citing poor compensation by Surendra Engineering Corporation Limited that had hired the workers.
G. Venkatraman, a relative of Muruganantham, a native of a village near Papanasam said the company had retained the workers after the visa expired and also taken away their passports. “They didn’t pay them for months,” he added.
B. Sundaramorrthy, a relative of Muthukrishnan, said. “The company is now offering Rs. 1 lakh and the pending salary. Muthukrishnan had two children. The company should pay Rs. 50 lakh,” he added.
Subsequently, the relatives met government officials and sought relief. Later, they took the bodies back home. The company official present at the airport refused to comment.
