Thiruvananthapuram: The mortal remains of Pat Nibin Maxwell, the Malayali youth killed in a missile attack in Israel, were brought to Kerala in an Air India flight from Delhi on Friday evening.
Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan and Israeli Consul General to India, Tammy Ben-Haim, were present at Thiruvananthapuram Airport to receive Maxwell's body.
Maxwell's brothers and relatives accompanied the mortal remains that were taken to his hometown in Kollam by road from the state capital. The funeral, according to relatives, will be held on Saturday at Kollam by 4 pm.
"We thank the Israeli government for cooperating well with the Indian government and taking initiatives to bring Maxwell's mortal remains to India without delay," Muraleedharan told PTI.
He said the paperwork is underway to provide compensation for the family of Maxwell.
Lamenting the incident as highly unfortunate, Ben-Haim, who had flown down from Bengaluru to receive the mortal remains, said the Israeli government is waging a war against terrorism and doing everything to protect the natives and foreign nationals in the country from terror attacks.
"We will take care of the family of Maxwell and are working out a compensation plan for his family. The Israeli government is with the family at this unfortunate time, and we will do everything to share their grief," Ben-Haim said.
She said Maxwell was killed and two others were injured in a missile attack from the Lebanon side. The Consul General said that they could only have a peaceful life when they defeat the terrorists in Gaza.
Maxwell's father said that it was his elder son who informed him about his younger son's death.
"My elder son called me around 4.30 pm on Monday and told me that Maxwell was injured in the attack and was hospitalised. Later, at around 12.45 am, he told me that my younger son had died," the father told a TV channel.
He also said that Maxwell left behind a four-and-a-half-year-old daughter and his wife was pregnant.
"Maxwell was in Muscat and Dubai earlier and then returned here. Thereafter, he went to Israel. First, my elder son went there and a week later my younger son too went there," he said.
Maxwell was killed and two other Keralites- Bush Joseph George and Paul Melvin - were injured on Monday when an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon struck an orchard near Israel's northern border community of Margaliot.
(With PTI inputs)
