Family of missing sailor hopeful of son's return

The parents of Akshay Jadhav, one of the Indian sailors who went missing after two vessels caught fire off Russia, are still hopeful of receiving a positive news about their son and said he was supposed to return home in Kolhapur district after spending one year on the sea.

At least six Indian sailors died and an equal number of them went missing after two fuel ships carrying Indian and Turkish crew members caught fire in the Kerch Strait, where the blaze was still raging following the accident on Monday.

Akshay Jadhav (23) is from a Kodoli village, 30 kilometers from Kolhapur, who had gone gone to work in merchant navy through a Mumbai-based recruitment service firm that caters to maritime and offshore industry worldwide.

While talking to PTI from Mumbai, Baban Jadhav, father of Akshay Jadhav, said his son joined the maritime firm and started his job as a seaman on January 25 last year.

"Since then he had not returned home. His contract with the firm was to get over on January 25 and he was supposed to come home on February 1," he added.

Baban Jadhav, along with his family, is at the Mumbai-based maritime firm through which Akshay Jadhav had gone to do the job on ship.

"The company officials are in touch the authorities and getting updates about the search operations and we are hopeful that Akshay, along with other missing sailors, would return safely," he said.

Baban Jadhav said Akshay Jadhav, after completing his Class XII, did some course in Chennai and later went on to work on the ship.

"I was not convinced about his decision to join this job on ship, but he was quite determined and told me that since his elder brother could not get through the army, he would like to do something different to support the family," said Baban Jadhav, who works in Warana milk in Warananagar.

He said they are hopeful of receiving a positive news. "We are hoping to receive a positive news and we are praying to god that all the missing sailors should return safely.