The bodies of Kartik, 22, and Pratik Kalaichelvan, 19, were flown down to the city early in the morning, accompanied by their parents, Rita and Alangiam P Kalaichelvan.
The funeral service of two brothers, killed in an air crash in Texas more than a week ago, was conducted here on Thursday.
The bodies of Kartik, 22, and Pratik Kalaichelvan, 19, were flown down to the city early in the morning, accompanied by their parents, Rita and Alangiam P Kalaichelvan.
The bodies were taken to their residence, Kalyan Residency in Kalyan Nagar, where hundreds of relatives and friends paid homage to the boys.
The funeral mass was held at the St Wesley Church on Hanes Road. The bodies were later taken to Indian Catholic Cemetery on Hosur Road for burial. The brothers were buried in the same grave.
Close relatives and friends of the deceased boys attended the burial.
The principal of CMR Junior College, Nalini Nagraj, and her colleagues also paid their respects to the departed souls. Pratik studied biology in CMR.
“Pratik was full of energy, intelligent and an all-rounder. We know his family well. His mother, Rita, was a teacher at the CMR School,” Nagraj said.
The boy was active in sports too. He had been a member of inter-collegiate football and basketball teams of the CMR College.
His brother Kartik wanted to be a commercial pilot like their father, and was working towards that goal when tragedy struck.
Kartik and Pratik were killed on July 13 when a 1964 Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft nosedived and crashed into Tolar, a town about 72 km south-west of Fort Worth in Texas. Kartik’s friend and owner of the aircraft, US national Casey Brinegar, 26, was also killed in the crash.
Reports said the three were returning to the Arlington Airport when the mishap happened. Brinegar and Kartik, both pilot instructors at Skymates Flight School, had taken Pratik for a barbeque.
Pratik, a student of Stanley Medical College in Chennai, had gone to the US for a brief visit.
The boys’ father Kalaichelvan is a captain with the Kingfisher Airlines, and mother, Rita, was earlier teaching at the CMR School. They left for the US on July 14, after being informed about the crash.
Prasad Thotakura, president of the Indian American Friendship Council, said Karthik’s friends made the necessary arrangements to keep the bodies at the Rahma Funeral Home in Dallas.
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