Bodies of 3 Telangana siblings killed in US home fire brought to Hyderabad

The bodies of three teenaged siblings from Telangana, who were charred to death in a house fire in US state of Tennessee in December last year, were brought to Hyderabad on Friday.

Sathwika Sharon Naik Kethavath, 17, Aaron Suhas Naik Kethavath,15, and Joy Suchitra Naik Kethavath, 14, from Nalgonda district were burnt alive in the fire at the residence of Kari Coudriet in Collierville, where they had gone for Christmas celebrations.

Kari, 46, died in the incident but her husband Danny and son Cole managed to escape.

The children’s parents K Srinivas Naik and Sujatha Naik, who rushed to Collierville soon after the accident, accompanied their bodies to Hyderabad. The Telangana government paid for all the arrangements to bring the bodies to their native place.

Telangana state minorities’ commission vice-chairperson B Shankar Luke and Christian priests Sajjan Kumar, Bishop Nehemiah and others were also present at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. From there, the bodies were taken to Narayanguda Baptist Church where special prayers were conducted.

The parents later took the bodies of their children to their native village of Gurrapu Thanda of Neredugommu block, where the last rites would be held on Saturday.

Srinivas had worked as a pastor with the Collierville Bible Church (CBC) and returned to Nalgonda in 2017. His children, however, stayed back in the US to continue at the French Camp Academy in Mississippi. The siblings had gone to the Coudriet’s’ residence after they invited them to stay in their home when the school closed for winter break and the three could not go home to India.

First Published: Jan 18, 2019 12:57 IST