The bodies of two Keralite nurses, who were killed in a car accident in Saudi Arabia’s Najran, were repatriated  to Kerala on Sunday. According to NORKA roots  (Non-resident Keralite affairs department) the bodies of Kottayam native Shincy Philip and Thiruvananthapuram native Ashwathy Vijayan arrived at the Thiruvananthapuram airport at 7:30 am on Sunday.

The fatal car accident took place on June 6 in Thar Najran where two of the deceased’s colleagues were seriously injured. The driver too was admitted with serious injuries following the accident. Shincy Philip has been working in Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid Hospital for the last two years. According to her family and friends in Kerala, she had flown down to Kottayam just four months ago for her wedding. Her husband works as a nurse in Bahrain. Shincy had quit her job in Saudi and had applied for her visa processing in order to join her husband in Bahrain. She had gone for a trip with her housemates when the accident occurred, according to her kin.

Ashwathy Vijayan is the wife of Jijosh Mithra. The 31-year-old was a native of Avanikuzhi near Thannimood in Thiruvananthapuram. She is survived by her parents Vijayan, Jalaja and her two children Diksha and Dayal. The bodies of the two nurses were kept at the Thar General Hospital mortuary. 

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan were asked to intervene to bring back the bodies of the two nurses. In a Facebook post, Muraleedharan had said that the bodies were brought back on Sunday and that the Indian Consulate in Jeddah had completed all formalities with the government of Saudi Arabia.

The Indian government has also requested for better treatment of the other two nurses who were injured in the accident. One of them Sneha has been shifted to another hospital for specialist treatment while the other nurse Rinzy has been showing signs of improvement, he said.