Oman cyclone: 4 more Indians confirmed dead

Four more Indians were confirmed to have died in the devastating cyclone that hit Oman early this week, taking the toll of Indians to six, even as six others remain missing.

The bodies of Prithvi Pal Singh and Prempal Singh (both from Punjab) and Anil Kumar of Ottapalam at Palakkad in Kerala and Sarawana Kumar Pillai have been found, Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed told reporters in Delhi on Sunday.

Details about Pillai is not known as only an ID card has been recovered from his body, he said.

Earlier, the deaths of Prakash from Mysore in Karnataka and Pokkan Sreenu, hailing from East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, were confirmed by authorities in Delhi.

The doctors have informed Indian Embassy officials that the body of Anil Kumar was in a highly decomposed state and advised them to cremate him there, Ahamed said. Ahamed himself and Embassy officials have spoken to the father of Anil Kumar and conveyed the advise of Omanese doctors to him.

The families of both the Singhs are settled in Muscat.

The government also decided to waive for a month the charge of 30 Omanese Riyal collected from those in Oman who apply for duplicate passports.

"Many people have lost their passports and so we have decided to waive of the charges for a month," Ahamed said.

Among those missing after the cyclone hit Oman's coastal areas on Wednesday are Sajit Kumar (Calicut, Kerala), Udayan (Guruvayur, Kerala), Sami (Andhra Pradesh), Mohammed Ali and Binu (both from Ernakulam, Kerala).

The name of another missing person from Punjab is not known yet.

Two other Indians, Dharmarajan and Mohammed Abdul Rahim, both from Andhra Pradesh, were injured in the storm.

The sultanate hosts 3.86 lakh Indians.