PUNE: Relatives of Pune-based Yashvant Survase, who is currently on the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean, are worried as they have not been able to establish contact with Survase after Thursday. The 28-year-old from Rasta Peth is stranded in the Breezy Bay region of Grant Turk Island where Hurricane IRMA has wrecked havoc.
According to the family members, Survase last contacted them on Thursday night after which they have been unable to establish any contact. “He informed us that they are not getting any assistance from local authorities for rescue and relief. He claims to have contacted the Indian Embassy but said that there was no response from them either,” said Sneha Pawar, Survase's wife.
His sister Ashwini Shevale said, “He contacted us at around 10 pm IST on Thursday. Ever since we are unable to establish telephonic contact with him. He told us that government authorities had issued a hurricane warning. They were left without any help, water and electricity supply. They were trying to contact the Indian Embassy in the Dominican Republic, but they did not get any response.”
Family members also said that he had contacted the Indian Embassy in the United Kingdom after the hurricane alert was issued but to no avail.
Survase is working as a store manager at a diamond shop at Kingston for last eight years. After marriage, his wife Sneha had also shifted with him. However, she is currently in India for a family function. She was supposed to fly back to the island country next week.
Shevale also informed that several other Indians are stuck on the island. Some of them were identified as Neelkanth Mehtani, Christy Medikonda, Chetan Chablani, Dharmesh Patel, Darshika Patel, Thiyagu Chandran and Jiten Sharma.
Ashwini claimed that the rescue team from British Navy arrived in the area for rescue but the Britishers were being rescued on priority. Ashwini said, “Indian Foreign Ministry must take an initiative to locate the Indian nationals stuck in the Caribbean Island and relief measures should be undertaken as early as possible. At least 10 people from Pune and 1200 people from India are stuck in the Hurricane IRMA-hit Caribbean Island.”
