Sindhurakshak tragedy: Sailor from Kerala phoned mother hours before explosion

Mangalore Today/NDTV

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 16: INS Sindhurakshak crewman Liju Lawrence last spoke to his ailing mother on Tuesday evening, just hours before the submarine exploded and sank at the naval dockyard in Mumbai.

29-year-old Liju, married just two months ago, was one of the 18 Navy personnel on the doomed submarine.

 

Two days on, no one has been able to break the news to his mother.

"We haven’t told Liju’s mother much. She is unwell, she can’t take the news well," Liju’s father C Lawrence, in his 50s, told NDTV.

Liju’s elder brother Biju and a few others have left for Mumbai where Navy divers are still trying to find the bodies of the sailors. His young wife Saumya was living with him in Mumbai.

Mr Lawrence said the Navy had assured him all efforts were being made to find the crewmen including his son. "We are waiting to hear from the Navy," Mr Lawrence told NDTV at his home in Thiruvananthapuram.

 

Hopes crashed for the sailors’ families when the Navy said in an official statement today that it would be difficult to find any survivors, judging by the condition of the wrecked submarine.

But Liju’s family is clinging to prayers and faith, surrounded by a constant stream of relatives and friends. Their home has been echoing with hymns for the past two days.

Apart from Liju, three other sailors were from Kerala. Their families have also gone to Mumbai.