Indian sailor's first voyage ends in tragedy: Russian missile strike kills UP youth, family in shock
Abhishek Nishad, a 22-year-old from Uttar Pradesh's Deoria district, was among four Indian seafarers killed on Sunday when a Russian missile struck a merchant vessel shortly after it departed Ukraine's southern port of Odesa. A total of 10 people died in the attack.
The voyage was Nishad's first assignment at sea. His family had celebrated his departure, seeing it as the beginning of a promising career abroad.
“Abhishek became interested in a maritime career after speaking with his cousin, Jairaj Nishad, a sailor for the past few years,” said his father, Kaushal Nishad, who runs a small cloth shop in Karmel village. “After completing his intermediate studies two years ago, Abhishek began preparing to join the merchant navy and gathered information online.”
“On June 9, Abhishek left for his first assignment as an Ordinary Seaman. He flew to Turkey via Mumbai to join the vessel,” Kaushal added. “Everyone in our family and neighbourhood was proud that one of our boys had secured a job overseas. We never imagined it would end in such a tragedy.”
The second of three children born to Kaushal Nishad and his wife Anita Devi, a homemaker, Abhishek was the first member of his family to secure employment abroad. His younger sisters, Sadhna and Aradhna, are pursuing postgraduate and undergraduate degrees, respectively. Abhishek was unmarried.
“He called us regularly, and we last spoke on the evening of July 19. He asked how everyone was doing and said he was settling into his new job,” his father recalled. “Just a few hours later, the ship came under a missile attack.”
Unaware of the strike, the family attempted to call him the following day, but his phone went unanswered. Representatives from the shipping company later contacted them with the news of his death.
“For a while, I simply couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” Kaushal said, his voice breaking. “I kept hoping there had been a mistake. Even now, I keep wondering whether sending him to work on that vessel was the right decision.”
He added that the family is waiting for Abhishek’s remains to be repatriated and has not yet been informed when the body will arrive home.
Jitendra Bahadur Nishad, the village head, said Abhishek was among a handful of local youths who had joined the merchant navy and was the latest to do so. “This tragedy has shaken our entire village,” he said. “Families will now think twice before allowing their children to take up jobs at sea. Abhishek was so excited about embarking on his first voyage.”
He added that senior district officials are expected to visit the family to offer condolences.
When contacted by The Indian Express, Deoria Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Raj Kumar Gupta said he had been informed of Abhishek’s death by local residents but was awaiting official communication from government agencies.
Another sailor killed was identified as Akhil Joyan, 26, a resident of the Kasaragod district in Kerala. Family sources said the shipping firm contacted them.
Meanwhile, India Tuesday summoned Russia’s charge d’affaires and lodged a strong protest over the killing of Indian sailors aboard the Guinea-Bissau-flagged merchant vessel struck off the coast of Ukraine. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told the Russian diplomat that the attack on the merchant vessel, in which the Indians died, was unacceptable. It marked the first death of Indian seafarers since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
