Dubai: The body of a 20-year-old Indian, who was charred to death in a blaze in a cargo vessel in March end, is still in a mortuary in the UAE, due to ongoing court procedures to claim insurance money.
Deepak Singh, a resident of Uttarakhand, died in the accident aboard cargo ship Al Reem, which later sank 8 km off Sharjah coast on March 24. His completely charred body was found on the ship.
His identity was ascertained from the information provided by three other surviving seamen, of whom two are Indian, undergoing treatment at a hospital in Sharjah, Emirates 24/7 reported yesterday.
The Indian survivors were identified as Nirmal Goswami and Satya Dev.
Goswami said: "We don`t know what happened to the other crew members. We don`t know where to go after getting discharged from the hospital. Fifteen days before the fire on the ship, we were leading a miserable life, eating only rice and `daal` because we were not paid salary.
"We are admitted in the hospital for so many days, but nobody came to look after us," he added.
An official named Osama, who said he was chartering the vessel, said he is not in a position to talk about insurance compensation to be given to the victims of the fire.
Speaking to Emirates 24|7, Uma Rani Padmanabhan, an Indian social worker, said: "The families of the survivors of the fire are eagerly waiting for their home coming.
"Satya Dev, who is the most severely burnt victim with 80 per cent injury, is still undergoing blood transfusion and other treatment. Nirmal Goswami, another victim, is recovering and is in a position to leave the UAE for further treatment back home," she said.
The Indian Consulate has issued new passports to the victims as their passports and other documents were burnt in the ship fire, the report said.
