Two Indians confirmed dead in Virginia shooting

New Delhi, Apr 18 (UNI) Two Indians have been confirmed dead in the shooting spree at the Virginia Tech University on Monday in which 33 people were kiled by a gunman.

Prof. G V Loganathan, 51, a lecturer at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Ms. Minal Panchal, a first year Building Science student in the Faculty of Agriculture, were among the 33 people killed when a lone gunman barged into the University and fired indiscriminately.

Two senior officials of the Indian Mission in Washignton have already rushed to Virginia to assist the families of the Indians missing/deceased after the shooting at the university.

''The Minister (Consular) and Minister (Community Affairs), Embassy of India, Washington, had rushed to Virginia Tech University yesterday itself to assist the families of the missing/deceased Indians,'' a spokesman of the External Affairs Ministry said here today.

The officers from the Embassy met the Indian students and reassured them at a meeting arranged by the University authorities.

Four members of Prof. Lognanthan's family (who was a US citizen with OCI status) are being provided passports from the Passport Office in Chennai. Thereafter, they will be issued visas on the spot from the US Consulate in Chennai.

Ticketing arrangements are being done by the Passport Office and the tickets are being paid for by the Government of Tamil Nadu.

The Indian Embassy in Washington will make arrangements to receive the family in the US.

The body of Ms. Minal Panchal has been identified by her mother. The body is expected to be handed over in two to three days.

Ms Panchal's mother who is based in Mumbai, and her brother-in-law, based in New Jersey, have yet to take a decision on whether they will transport the body back to India.

The Mission will coordinate transfer of the body, if necessary. Principal Resident Commissioner, Gujarat, has been informed of the developments, the spokesman said.

UNI