Tehran, July 21: It was just a week after the engagement, and it was also a certainty that they would get married in a few months. New dreams, new aspirations, a new home and a desire to build a better future for their family. But fate had other plans. A 26-year-old innocent man from Kerala has been killed in the flames of the Russia-Ukraine war that is going on thousands of miles away.
Sailor Akhil Joyan, a resident of Vellarikkundu in Kerala’s Kasaragod district, is one of the four Indians who were killed in a Russian missile attack off the coast of Odessa, Ukraine.
Akhil, who had returned after spending just a month of his engagement, had joined the Merchant Navy at the age of 19. Akhil, who has been working as a sailor on a ship for the past 6 years, had recently built a beautiful new house with his own hard work. Akhil is the only son of his father, Joyan, who runs an electrical shop, and his mother, Sally, who is an insurance agent.
Akhil’s engagement to a young woman from Alappuzha had been solemnized a few days ago. The wedding was scheduled in two months. After marriage, it was his dream to leave this dangerous ship job and join a new job somewhere else. However, this terrible tragedy occurred just a month after he returned to work after completing the engagement.
Hometown plunged into darkness: Shocking news received via e-mail A single e-mail that came to the family from the shipping company where Akhil worked on Monday evening shattered the dreams of the entire family. Akhil was a very popular and disciplined young man in his hometown.
What happened off the coast of Odessa, Ukraine? According to foreign media, the West African-flagged cargo ship MV Golden Leo was leaving the port of Odessa carrying Ukrainian corn. At that time, the ship came under heavy attack by Russian forces, killing a total of 10 crew members, including four Indian and five Syrian sailors.
Currently, the Kerala Chief Minister’s Office and the NORCA department are in constant contact with the Russian Consulate and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to bring back Akhil’s physical body.