Chennai family awaits body of techie killed in chopper crash

Vasanth Kumar Balaramaramadu's elderly parents live in Old Washermenpet CHENNAI: The family of Vasanth Kumar Balaramaramadu, a 47-year-old software engineer from Chennai, is awaiting the return of his mortal remains, a day after he died in a freak helicopter collision near Pheriche village in Nepal.

On Tuesday, some Nepalese revenue officials called his elderly parents, who live in Old Washermenpet, and informed them about his death. Vasantha Kumar’s parents, Balarama Ramadu, 80, and Parameshwari, 70, and his maternal grandparents were in shock after receiving the news. The family remained indoors and declined to speak to the media.

Govt initiated steps to bring his body to India after the family conveyed its decision to perform the last rites in Chennai. His friend Kishore Kumar, who lives in the same neighbourhood, said Vasantha Kumar had a keen interest in adventure travel and frequently went on vacations.

He had spoken to his parents on Monday morning and promised to call again after returning to Chennai, citing poor mobile connectivity in Nepal. Vasanthakumar had moved to Canada with his wife, Anal Chauhan, and their son, Vivaan, eight years ago. He later quit his job to care for their 12-year-old son, who was on the autism spectrum.

His wife works as a test manager at a multinational company. The helicopter crashed at Pheriche, at an altitude of 4,200 metres. Another passenger suffered serious injuries.