Mortal remains of Kerala trainee pilot killed in Canada to be flown to Kochi July 26

The mortal remains of Sreehari Sukesh, 23, a trainee pilot from Thripunithura in Kochi, Kerala, who was killed in Canada during a flying session, are expected to be flown to Kochi on the morning of July 26 (Saturday).

This was after the Consulate General of India in Toronto received relevant documents from the funeral home, where the victim’s body is being kept, on Tuesday (July 22, 2025). The Consulate has since completed the formalities, said an email to Hibi Eden from Girish Juneja, who is in charge of social welfare in the Consulate, on Tuesday night. The documents were required for the issue of no-objection certificate to repatriate the body.

As per the communication, the mortal remains will be flown to Delhi from Toronto by Air India flight, AI188, at 2.20 p.m on July 25. From Delhi, the body will be flown to Kochi by Air India flight, AI 833, on July 26 and reach here by 8.10 a.m.

He was killed after his flight collided with another during a practice session in Manitoba province, Canada, on July 8. May Royes, 20, from Canada, was the other victim. Since then, the autopsy has been completed and the body was moved to a funeral home. Mr. Eden has been in contact with the Indian Consulate in Canada to speed up the formalities to bring back the mortal remains at the earliest.

The victim is survived by father K. Sukesh, manager at the Angamaly branch of the Central Bank of India, mother Deepa Chandran, an IT professional with UST Global in Infopark, and a younger sister. The family has been going through an agonising time waiting for his mortal remains. The funeral will be held in Thripunithura.

Sreehari left for Canada one-and-a-half-year ago and used to communicate with his family back home through video call without fail daily. His last call came the day before his death. Sreehari had last visited home in November 2024 and left in the first week of February 2025. He was on the verge of completing the mandatory flying hours to qualify as a commercial pilot, a dream which he had cherished all along.