Salem/Trichy/Madurai: Ten of the 15 Indian tourists who were killed in a speed boat capsize off Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island on Saturday hailed from Tamil Nadu. Some of them were businessmen while others were agents of a cellphone company on a sponsored tour.The deceased were Balaji Natesan, Alagurajan Sivasamy and Shaik Abdullah from Trichy, Santhosh Kumar of Agaram in Chennai, Sridhar Sundararajan from Salem, Senthil Kumar Jayavel from Dharmapuri, Ravisankar Sugumaran from Tiruvannamalai, Vinaya Kumar from Vellore, Muruga Prabhu from Dindigul and Babu Kuppuswamy from Tiruvallur.Expressing grief over the accident, chief minister C Joseph Vijay deputed Santosh Hadimani IPS, (DIG Salem) to immediately rush to Ho Chi Minh City to expedite the repatriation of mortal remains of the deceased and to facilitate treatment of those affected in coordination with the Embassy authorities at Vietnam.N Sridhar, 60, a prominent wholesale cell phone dealer, travelled with friends to Vietnam on July 8. He leaves behind his wife Jayanthi, son Karthi who is in Australia, and daughter Harini who is in Scotland. Senthil Kumar was a Lava mobile dealer in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts. He ran an aluminium factory in Kadathur and an RO system agency in Dharmapuri. Senthil Kumar is survived by his wife Poovizhi, 40, and daughter Logasri, 7.Senthil Kumar’s father Jayavel, a retired sub-inspector, told reporters that his son was reluctant to join the trip, but his company insisted. “Fate took my son’s life,” he said.At Alagurajan’s residence, grief overwhelmed the family as relatives struggled to come to terms with the tragedy. “Why should something like this happen to such kind-hearted people,” a grieving family member said.Shaik Abdullah, a well-known businessman in the locality, is survived by his wife and two children. His family recalled that he had initially been reluctant to join the trip and wanted his son to travel instead. “But perhaps fate had other plans,” a family member said fighting tears. Muruga Prabhu, 43, is survived by his wife and their eight-year-old daughter.Conveying his condolences, former chief minister M K Stalin said he was deeply saddened to learn of the tragedy. AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami urged the Union and state govts to coordinate with the Vietnam govt to bring back bodies of the deceased and ensure proper treatment for the injured. TNCC president Manickam Tagore said the news that most of the victims were Tamils had caused profound shock and grief.BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss and AMMK general secretary T T V Dhinakaran also expressed condolences to the bereaved families.
