There were scenes of emotional reunion at the entrance of the international arrival terminal at the Chennai airport on Thursday night, when eight survivors from the Costa Concordia, the cruise liner that sank in the west coast of Italy, arrived home safely.
D. Ramkumar, who worked as the second cook in the ship, recounted the tragedy and said: “On the night of January 13, the ship went on a wrong route and hit a rock. After that, there was a siren which alerted all passengers. There were 3,500 passengers and 1,050 crew members in the cruise liner when the accident took place.”
When the stranded people were taken to the shore, they were provided accommodation in local schools and churches, he said. “Two days later, officials from the Indian Embassy came and provided all help to us,” he added.
Mr. Ramkumar also said they had lost all their belongings, including passports and educational certificates. “We don't know how we are going to get back to work,” he said. However, he added that officials of the Indian mission in Italy assured them that very soon, fresh passports would be issued.
The eight passengers who arrived in Chennai on Thursday night were Rajesh, D. Ramkumar, V. Bhuvanesh, Arjun Vaidyanathan, Dinesh Vasanthakumar, Kannan Prasad, Manoj and Prasanna.
Regional Passport Officer, C. Senthil Pandian received the survivors at the international arrival hall. All of them left for their homes in different parts of the State the same night.
N. Devendran, father of D. Ramkumar, said when his son had called him last Saturday his voice was trembling with fear. “He told me they were all stranded in an island in Italy and had lost all their belongings.” Mr. Devendran said his son was working in the ship for the last two years.
The parents managed to talk to Union Minister V. Narayanasamy, who in turn alerted the Indian Embassy officials in Italy to help the stranded Indians in the cruise liner.
Venkat Sangsani, a friend of one of the survivors, said when he called Bhuvanesh, the latter's voice was quivering in fear. “I asked him if he was able to help the passengers, but he said he was too frightened to do so,” Venkat said.
Ms. Vasanthi, Bhuvanesh's mother, claimed that the Red Cross had provided old clothes to the stranded Indian passengers, whereas the ones from other countries got new clothes. She also complained that there was no immediate help from Indian consular officials in Italy.
