MiG crash claims life of Malayali Officer

ALUVA: Veliyathunad near here plunged into grief after hearing the news about the death of Sooraj Nair,24, a Flying Officer with the Indian Air Force, in a MiG aircraft crash in the Rajasthan desert on Tuesday. Sooraj belonged to Aswathy at Veliyathunad.

Sooraj is survived by his father Mohankumar, a former employee of Standard Battery in Mumbai, mother Vasantha, a teacher in Hyderabad, and sister Sneha, an airhostess with Jet Airways. His mother and sister were staying in Hyderabad and his father was living in Veliyathunad.

Sooraj did his studies in Mumbai. He was undergoing training at the Bikaner Air Base for the last three years. He was promoted as a Flying Officer about six months ago. He had last visited his Veliyathunadu family house to attend the birthday celebrations of his grandmother, the local people remembered. Sooraj's father and his uncle left for Delhi this evening after hearing the news. His family members are planning to conduct his cremation in Veliyathunad.