Days after a 30-year-old merchant navy officer from Kanpur died in a drone attack while his vessel was sailing towards Russia, his family said on Tuesday it has received no official communication from the shipping company or government agencies, deepening fears of a mishap.
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Sagar Gupta, a chief officer in the merchant navy employed through Avon Navigator, was among the crew of MV OMORFI, which, according to Russian authorities, came under a Ukrainian drone attack on July 18 while transiting the Black Sea in Russian territorial waters. His family said Gupta had gone to the ship’s deck when he was caught in the attack.
The family said it learnt about the incident only on July 21 through his colleagues on the vessel.
They alleged that despite several days having passed, neither the shipping company nor any government agency has issued a written confirmation or shared details of the incident, deepening their uncertainty.
Gupta is survived by his mother, Rama Gupta, wife Shalu Gupta, five-year-old daughter Gauri and seven-month-old son Krishna. His father, Roop Narayan Gupta, had died earlier. His elder brother, Manish Gupta, and four sisters have appealed to the Centre to ensure his mortal remains are brought back to India at the earliest.
“We have been waiting for him to return. The last call came on July 17, and since then there has been no communication,” Shalu Gupta told reporters. “Until we see him ourselves, we still cannot believe it,” she said.
Sagar’s cousin, Shobhit Gupta, said the family has urged the Centre and the shipping company to expedite the repatriation of Gupta’s body and provide an official account of what happened.
