Shravanthi, a five-year-old girl from Kancheepuram, who was orphaned in a road accident in the U.K. on Saturday, is battling for life in the Intensive Care Unit of the Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Shravanthi’s parents — Karthikeyan Ramasubramaniam Pugalur and Lavanya Lakshmi — were among eight persons killed in the horrific accident at Newport Pagnell near Buckinghamshire when the minibus they were travelling in collided with two lorries.
Relatives of the severely injured child have applied for an urgent travel visa to the U.K.
Eight people, including two women, were killed on the spot and a five others seriously injured when the minibus transporting a group of IT professionals and their family members to London from Nottingham to board the Eurostar train to Paris met with an accident.
Hospital letter
Authorities at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where Shravanthi is under treatment, have written to the British High Commission here saying she had suffered “serious and significant injuries” and was in a “life-threatening situation”. The girl was likely to remain in the ICU in the short-term.
“We have been made aware by the police that Shravanthi’s parents unfortunately died in the accident and that she has no other family member in the U.K. This letter is being provided to facilitate immediate/extended family members’ visit to U.K. and support the girl at the bedside,” the letter said.
When contacted by The Hindu on Monday, doctors at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital refused to disclose any information regarding her health condition or passport details on the contact particulars in India.
However, a close relative, Sai Shankar, said he had requested a local family to take care of her. “We have applied for visa and intend to travel to London tomorrow (Tuesday). I really don’t know how to go about the things there...the bodies of Karthikeyan and Lavanya have to be brought to India. The family moved to Nottingham less than a year ago after Karthikeyan was sent on deputation there by Wipro,” he said.
Another Wipro employee Mano Ranjan Pannerselvam and his wife Sangeetha, who were among those seriously injured, are said to be out of danger. Mr Mano Ranjan’s father Paneerselvam and two close relatives, Arutchelvam and Tamil Mani, were killed in the accident, described as one of the worst motorway disasters in U.K. in 24 years.
Company helping
Dr. Shankar, son-in-law of Panneerselvam, said he had applied for a visa along with a letter from the London Metropolitan Police and was hopeful of getting the visa on Monday. “I was asked to collect my passport today. But they didn’t grant visa till late on Monday. I have cancelled my ticket to London scheduled on Tuesday,” he said adding that Wipro was helping with travel and accommodation.
Logistical support
Umadevi Sathiyarajan of London, a member of the World Tamil Organisation (WTO), said the organisation was in touch with the Indian High Commission and other agencies to extend logistics support to the families of the victims.
The long weekend had delayed coroner reports, she said. In the meantime, friends and relatives of the victims could contact the Thames Valley Police for any information by citing URN 214 of 26/8 as reference to the road accident. “We have handled formalities of at least 38 such repatriations in the past and our teams will assist the families in as many ways as possible to overcome the huge loss and transporting the dead to their respective destinations,” she quoted WTO president Jacob Ravibalan as saying.
PTI adds...
‘An extraordinary father’
Cyriac Joseph, the 52-year-old owner of the Nottingham-based ABC Travels and driver of the minibus, was among those who lost their lives in the pile-up. The Kerala-born man had been hired to take the group from Nottingham to London when the crash happened near Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire.
His friend Manu Zachariah paid tribute to Joseph, also known as Benny. Mr. Zachariah said: “Cyriac was an extraordinary father, and would do anything for his friends. He was always there for us and will be really missed.”
He held child till help came
Brett Smith, who passed the scene of accident in a taxi before the emergency services arrived and stopped to help the little girl, said: “A family has been destroyed. I held a little girl by her arms, trapped inside a vehicle, for a good hour or so with the emergency services and the fire service trying to help.”
“I walked home with a blanket that the ambulance service provided me to stay warm because the little girl has got my jacket to keep herself safe.
“The fire and ambulances services did a really good job,” Mr. Smith added.
