THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: City-based engineer, Manikuttan, 31, who had gone missing from an Indo-Nigerian tanker following a massive blast on board near the Nigerian coast on Sunday last, was declared dead by his employers. The death was confirmed after the company recovered the bodies of all the five persons, including Manikuttan, who went missing after the blast. The bodies were recovered by the search party between Thursday evening and Friday noon. The news of Manikuttan’s death was received by his family by Friday afternoon, Thiruvonam day. According to his family, the company officials informed them that all five bodies have been recovered. However, the bodies needed to be identified as they were all burnt beyond recognition in the blast, before being sent to India. Manikuttan is the son of Bhaskaran Nair and Saraswathy Amma of ‘Kairali’, Bhagavathy Nagar, Jawahar Nagar near Kowdiar here. He was a bachelor and was the youngest among seven brothers. He was an assistant engineer with the Indo-Nigerian vessel, ITB Jackson, which was transporting oil from Nigeria to India. The ship belonged to Mumbai-based company, Noha Marine Limited. The blast occurred on board on Sunday, following which five of the all-Indian 15-member crew went missing. A few others were injured seriously. The family of Manikuttan came to know about the incident only on Tuesday, when another crew member, Marimuthu, hailing from Marthandam in Tamil Nadu, informed them after he regained consciousness after the blast. When contacted by the family, the company officials said that the delay in conveying the information occurred because they had to confirm the news of the mishap first before informing the families of the victims.
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