Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Aug. 5 (ANI): The body of 30-year-old Chief Officer Sagar Gupta, who was killed in a drone attack on a merchant vessel in the Black Sea earlier this month, was brought to his ancestral home in Kanpur on Wednesday.
According to family members, Gupta, a resident of Shastri Nagar in Kanpur, was employed by a shipping company and was serving as chief officer aboard a merchant vessel bound for Russia.
The family has appealed to the government to accord Gupta martyr status and provide a government job to one of his relatives. They have also urged the government and the shipping company to extend all possible assistance and support to the bereaved family.
Family members said the vessel came under a drone attack on July 18. Gupta had just reached the upper deck when he was struck and died at the scene.
India strongly condemned the attack on the commercial vessel MV OMORFI in the Black Sea, calling attacks on merchant shipping unacceptable and urging all parties to ensure the safety of maritime navigation and international commerce.
The attack occurred on July 18 while MV OMORFI was sailing in the Black Sea, reportedly within Russian territorial waters. The vessel had 10 crew members on board, including three Indian nationals. One Indian sailor was killed, while the other two were reported safe.
The family said they were informed about the incident on July 21 but did not receive any formal written communication from either the shipping company or government authorities in the days that followed, adding to their distress.
Gupta is survived by his mother, Rama Gupta, his wife, Shalu Gupta, their 5-year-old daughter, Gauri, and their 7-month-old son, Krishna.
Separately, the family of another Merchant Navy sailor who went missing from a ship near Istanbul, Türkiye, has appealed to the government for urgent assistance in locating him, saying they have had no information about his whereabouts since July 25.
Ramesh Chandra Dubey, the father of missing sailor Ram Chandra Dubey, said the family last spoke with him on July 24, when everything appeared normal. He alleged that the shipping company informed them of his disappearance only the following day.
According to his father, Ram Chandra Dubey traveled to Istanbul through Deloship, a Delhi-Noida-based shipping company, and was working as a sailor aboard a vessel. His original six-month contract was extended to nine months and later extended again.
“We last spoke with him on July 24, and everything seemed fine. Since July 25, we haven’t heard from him. The company only told us he was missing. They didn’t even inform us on July 25; they notified us at 1 p.m. on July 26,” Ramesh Chandra Dubey told ANI.
He alleged that the company has not provided sufficient information about the incident and has instead directed the family to contact other authorities. (ANI)
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