Kerala CM Seeks Compensation From Nepal for Death of 8 Tourists

Kerala CM requested the centre to persuade Nepal to compensate the families of Keralites who died in a resort.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday requested Centre to persuade the Nepal government to compensate the families of eight Keralites who died in a resort in Nepal.

(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/ Kerala CM)

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday, 26 January, requested Centre to persuade the Nepal government to compensate the families of eight Keralites who died in a resort in Nepal, on 21 January.

The cause of death is suspected to be carbon monoxide poisoning from a gas heater used inside the hotel room.

Vijayan wrote on Facebook that, in a letter to Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, he has pointed out: “Prima facie, it is clear that there has been negligence on the part of the service providers and there appears to be a failure of regulatory mechanisms which ought to have been in place.”

He said the Indian government should request the Nepalese government to investigate the matter.

He had visited the traumatised families of the victims on Sunday and offered his condolences.

Vijayan visited the house of 39-year-old Praveen Krishnan Nair at Chenkottukonam in Thiruvananthapuram.

The mortal remains of Nair, his wife Saranya and their three children were brought via an Air India flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi and then airlifted to their hometown Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. They were laid to rest in the backyard of their house.

Vijayan had also paid homage at the spot where the family was laid to rest.

He also visited the family of Renjith Kumar at Kunnamangalam in Kozhikode. Their seven-year-old boy, Madhav, is the only surviving member of the family. He had slept in a separate room.

The state government has sought copies of the post-mortem reports by forensic doctors at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu.

Meanwhile, Nepal's Department of Tourism has formed a five-member committee to investigate if there were any lapses in the safety of tourists by the resort administration. The committee is required to submit the report within 15 days.