On finding Appunni Kozhiyadiyil missing from work on February 2, the ship's captain asked the crew to search for him onboard. But the hunt was to no avail.
A 30-year-old seaman from Kerala has mysteriously gone missing from a ship in Qatar. According to a letter received by the office of the Director General of Shipping, Appunni Kozhiyadiyil was to report for duty at 6 am on February 2 onboard the Offshore Supply Vessel (DMS 2000), but for some reason did not. He has been missing every since.
According to the complaint by Kozhiyadiyil's family, the ship owned by Doha Marine Services, a Doha-based company, was sailing off the Qatar coast where it was to be used as a support vessel for the oil rigs. Kozhiyadiyil was working onboard as an oiler and was staying in the ship.
However, on finding Kozhiyadiyil missing from work on February 2, the ship's captain asked the crew to search for him onboard. But the hunt was to no avail. A colleague of Kozhiyadiyil spoke to him on the ship's deck at around 5.30am on the fateful day. “Kozhiyadiyil told his colleague that he had to report for duty at 6 am and left. That was the last anyone saw or heard of him," said captain TV Krishnan, a family friend who spoke to DNA over the phone from Kadampazhipuram village in Palakkad district in Kerala.
A manhunt was launched to trace Kozhiyadiyil but after two days, the authorities decided to call it off, and the ship was brought along shore to file a police complaint. Kozhiyadiyil's family members have alleged that the authorities onboard the ship tried to hush up the matter by telling the police that it was a case of suicide. According to the information received by Kozhiyadiyil's family, the Qatar police wrapped up their investigation within a day and the ship sailed again the same day.
Surprisingly, the family has till date not been officially intimated about Kozhiyadiyil disappearance. “We got a phone call from one of Kozhiyadiyil's colleague, who is on board the ship and he told us about the incident," Captain Krishnan said.
Several attempts by the family members to contact Kozhiyadiyil's employers have proved futile. "It has been more than 20 days but we still have no idea about what really happened," Captain Krishnan said. Kozhiyadiyil, was married a few months ago, and had joined the Doha Marine Services. Four months ago, he left for Qatar and was to return to Kerala for a vacation next month.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}