Chandy calls for MEA help to get a Keralite's body back

Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Monday requested the external affairs ministry for bringing back here the body of a man from the state killed in Libya, said a state government official.

Solomon Daniel, 59, who hails from Alappuzha district, was killed when a piece of shrapnel hit him in a missile attack Sunday.

Speaking to IANS, P.Sudeep, CEO of Roots-Norka, said Daniel, who worked as a turner in a multinational company in Libya, was hit when he was about to board a bus of the company which was evacuating its employees to a safe place.

"The missile hit a tea shop and a piece from there hit him when he was about to board a bus. A person standing next to him was also slightly injured, but Daniel was killed instantly," said Sudeep, who added that the chief minister has spoken to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Daniel was working in Libya for almost a decade now over two posting periods.

On the first occasion after working for some time, he escaped an attack and decided to return home for good.

But three years back, the same company invited him and he went back to resume his job - and this time it proved fatal.