'I will come home safely': Indian sailor's last words to wife before a US strike killed him

Article excerpt

Patnala Suresh, an Indian sailor working on a commercial vessel in the Red Sea, told his wife he would come home safely just hours before a U.S. strike killed him this month. The couple had been planning to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. Suresh was among several sailors killed when the U.S. military struck what it said was a Houthi-controlled vessel. His death underscores the mounting toll on commercial shipping workers caught in the escalating conflict between U.S. forces and Iran-backed militants in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.