Kenyan accident: Tragedy struck Palakkad family ahead of vacation trip to home
Palakkad , A Palakkad-based woman and her daughter, who were among the five Keralites feared dead in a road accident in Kenya on June 9, were expected to reach Kerala for vacation on June 28, her father said on Wednesday.
The woman's father said that his daughter and son-in-law, Joel, were settled in Qatar for the last six years and since their children's summer vacation was in July-August, they were scheduled to reach Kerala on June 28.
"We were waiting for them to come and that is when this tragedy occurred," he told a TV channel.
A tourist bus carrying a group of 28 Indian nationals met with the accident at around 7 pm IST on June 9 in a region about 150 kilometres from Nairobi, according to a statement issued by the Kerala CM's office on Tuesday.
It had also said that at least five Keralites were feared dead, though the Indian High Commission in Nairobi has yet to officially confirm the names of the victims and that the tourists had arrived from Qatar.
The deceased woman's father said that his son-in-law and grandson were undergoing treatment at a hospital in the Kenyan-capital of Nairobi and his son reached there on Tuesday night from Dubai to help them.
"Joel has to undergo surgery and thereafter, it has to be seen when he can travel. The bodies of my daughter and grand-daughter are at a mortuary around three hours from Nairobi," he said.
He further said that all formalities to bring the bodies back were expected to be completed in a couple of days.
He also said that once the bodies arrive in Kerala, they will be first brought to the woman's home here for a few hours for friends and relatives to pay their last respects and then the remains will be taken to her husband's place in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu for the final rites.
The Gulf Times newspaper had reported that the bus the Indian tourists were travelling in got out of control and fell into a gorge in the northeastern county of Nyandarua.
Citing community sources, the paper had said that at least five tourists from south India were killed in the accident.
However, the identity of the dead is yet to be verified, while 27 are injured and admitted to various hospitals in Kenya, it had added.
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