Deoria (UP) | The body of Shivanand Chaurasia, who was among the three Indian seafarers killed in a US military attack on a commercial vessel near the Oman coast, has reached his village here.

The body of Chaurasia, who was working as an engine fitter on a tanker operated by a foreign shipping company, arrived at the Delhi airport from Muscat early Wednesday morning. It was later flown to the Gorakhpur airport and brought to his native Surauli village by road on Wednesday evening.

As the body reached the village, the atmosphere turned sombre, with Chaurasia's parents, wife and brother breaking down. Several police teams and administrative officials were deployed in the village and they tried to pacify the family members.

The family demanded an ex gratia of Rs 1 crore each from the Centre and the state government, a government job for a dependent and martyr status for him. They refused to perform the last rites and did not allow the body to be taken out of the ambulance for nearly three hours.

District Magistrate Madhusudan Hulgi received the family's memorandum and assured them of necessary action, officials said.

Around 9.30 pm, the family agreed to allow the body to be taken for a second post-mortem. The last rites will be performed on Thursday, they said.

Deoria MP Shashank Mani remained in touch with the family and was coordinating with the central government for bringing back Chaurasia's body.

Chaurasia and two other Indian sailors were killed on June 10 when the US struck a Palau-flagged tanker, Settebello, off the coast of Oman.

There were 24 Indian crew members on board the tanker. While 21 crew members were rescued, three, including Chaurasia, went missing. Their bodies were recovered on June 11.