Indian student dies in Germany after jumping from apartment to escape fire
Berlin: A 25-year-old Indian student from Telangana lost his life in a fire accident in Germany on New Year’s Day while trying to escape from his apartment, leaving his family devastated just days before he was to return home for Sankranti.
According to a report published by NDTV, the deceased, Hruthik Reddy, hailed from Malkapur village in Jangaon district. A fire broke out late Wednesday night at the apartment where he was staying in Germany. As the flames and thick smoke spread rapidly, Hruthik reportedly attempted to escape by jumping from the upper floor of the building.
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Hruthik Reddy had reportedly left for Magdeburg in Germany in June 2023 to pursue an MS degree at the University of Europe. He graduated from Vaagdevi College of Engineering in 2022. His family said he had postponed taking a break during Dasara, planning instead to come home in the second week of January for Sankranti festival.
News of his death has cast a pall of gloom over his native village, where family members had been eagerly preparing for his homecoming. Instead, they are now awaiting the return of his mortal remains.
Local authorities in Germany are investigating the cause of the fire. Meanwhile, Hruthik's family and friends back in Telangana have reached out to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Indian Embassy in Germany to expedite the process of bringing his mortal remains back to his home village for the final rites.
The incident comes amid a series of tragic deaths involving Telugu students abroad. Last month, a 24-year-old woman from Jangaon district, Sahaja Reddy Udumala, died in a house fire in Albany, New York. She had moved to the US in 2021 for higher studies. She was living in Albany, New York. According to preliminary information, the fire had originated in a neighbouring building and spread rapidly to Sahaja's house. She was reportedly asleep when the fire broke out and was unable to escape.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
