Three Indian sailors were killed after the US military struck the MT Settebello, an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, on Wednesday, triggering grief across Indian and prompting diplomatic protests from New Delhi.
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The vessel was carrying 24 Indian crew members at the time of the strike. Twenty-one were rescued, while chief engineer Patnala Suresh, cadet Aditya Sharma and fitter Shivanand Chaurasia were killed, according to India's Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
For the families left behind, however, the focus remains on the men they lost.
"He told me he would be home soon. I never imagined he would return like this," Suresh's wife, Patnala Bhargavi, told the BBC.
The couple had been preparing to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary later this month. Instead, Bhargavi is now waiting for her husband's body to be brought back home.
According to the US military, the strike was part of efforts to enforce a blockade on Iran-linked shipping. The US Central Command said in a post on X that one of its aircraft fired "precision munitions" into the tanker's engine room "after the crew repeatedly failed" to follow directions.
