For the families of Muthukrishnan, 40, of Andakudi, and Muruganandam, 25, of Veeranchery, both near Kumbakonam, the world has suddenly become dark with their bread winners getting killed in a boiler blast in a sugar mill in Ethiopia on Friday.
At least six workers, including the two, were killed in the blast.
The victims’ colleagues broke the news to their relatives and the villages plunged into grief.
Muthukrishnan is survived by his wife Jothi, 33, and children Thamaraiselvan, 13, Arun Kumar, 11, and mother Saradha. The family was struggling to make the ends meet with his earnings.
For Viswanathan and Mallika, parents of Muruganandam, who was a bachelor, life has suddenly turned cruel.
Muruganandam’s earnings also supported his brother and sister. The blast has left the family at the crossroads.
To seek compensationAggrieved relatives of the deceased have urged the State government to intervene and bring home the bodies. They have also sought governmental help in getting compensation from the firm in which the victims worked.
Government sources in Chennai said the authorities quickly got in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs to expeditiously bring back the bodies, after which they would take up the issue of compensation.
