The body of an Indian sailor, who was killed when an Iranian ship sank more than two months ago, is expected to be returned to his family in New Delhi on Tuesday, marking the end of an agonising struggle by his family, shipping sources have told The Hindu .
There is, however, still no word on the fate of two other Indians on the Iranian-flagged Shab Row, which is believed to have gone down with all hands between Kish Island and Bandar Linge on October 27, 2011.
Dinesh Kumar, the killed sailor, was 25 at the time of the tragedy. His family, which is based in Himachal Pradesh's Palampur district, had spent its entire life savings, Rs. 5 lakh, to send him on the apparently lucrative assignment abroad through an unregistered labour agent.
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The other two Indians on the crew, which included four Iranians, were Manoj Yadav from Kolkata and Pavan Kumar Choudhury from Gorakhpur.
Nejoum al-Bahar, the ship's Dubai-based owners, wrote a letter to their agents, informing them that the ship had sunk and one body had been recovered. There has, however, been no authoritative confirmation of the sinking of the ship through official channels, despite the efforts of the Indian Embassy in Tehran. Nor has any compensation been paid to the families of the deceased and missing sailors.