A 22-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh’s Deoria district was killed when a cargo vessel he was serving on was struck by Russian missiles near Ukraine’s Odesa port, his family confirmed on Tuesday. The grieving family has appealed to the central government to expedite the return of his mortal remains to India.
Information was available with The Chenab Times that Abhishek Nishad, a resident of Karmel village, was working as a deck cadet aboard the cargo vessel Golden Leo. He had joined the ship approximately a month prior, having departed for the overseas assignment on June 10.
The vessel, identified as the Golden Leo, was reportedly carrying cargo from Ukraine to Syria. According to Abhishek’s father, Kaushal Nishad, the ship came under attack by three Russian cruise missiles in the Black Sea, near the Odesa coast, on July 19. The family received confirmation of Abhishek’s death on Monday evening from a representative of the Mumbai-based shipping company that had facilitated his employment.
In a poignant account, Kaushal Nishad stated that Abhishek had last spoken to his mother, Anita, twice on the day of the attack. During their final conversation around 7 p.m., an air raid siren was heard in the background. Abhishek informed his mother that he was heading to a bunker and would call back later. The family has not heard from him since.
The father has reached out to Bansgaon Member of Parliament and Union Minister of State for Rural Development, Kamlesh Paswan, urging his intervention. He requested that the Ministry of External Affairs facilitate the repatriation of his son’s body through the Indian Embassy in Ukraine. Additionally, the family has sought financial assistance during this trying period.
Company officials reportedly informed Abhishek’s father that there were 18 individuals on board the vessel at the time of the missile strike. Ukraine’s Sea Ports Authority had previously stated that a cargo vessel flying the flag of Guinea-Bissau was targeted by Russian forces shortly after departing the port of Odesa. The attack resulted in the deaths of 10 crew members, including five sailors from Syria. The authority also reported that eight individuals were rescued from the ship, which was carrying Ukrainian corn.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
