SUNGAI PETANI: The grandmother of a child who perished in a boat capsize incident while on holiday at Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu, was shocked and nearly fainted upon receiving the tragic news.
According to Sinar Harian, T. Panjawarnam, 68, learned of her granddaughter V. Vennpani's, 10, death after receiving a call from one of the survivors at around 1am on the day of the incident.
In the tragedy, the victim's parents, her daughter K. Kalini, 39, and son-in-law M. Vijeya Raj, 40, survived.
"I was shocked and nearly fainted when informed that my granddaughter had died in the incident.
"I am extremely sad... it is difficult to accept and forget all the memories because I have cared for her since birth," she said.
She added that the victim was the only child and her birth was eagerly awaited by the family.
"We waited a long time for her birth but did not expect that in the blink of an eye, she would leave us.
"She was very eager to join her parents on the holiday with three other families, and they left on Friday (June 27) morning," she said.
According to Panjawarnam, the victim was very obedient, easy to care for, always cheerful, and loved by everyone.
Vennpani's body arrived at the family home near SP Heights here around 1am on Monday (June 30) and was taken to the cremation site in Kampung Serukam at approximately 12.30pm.
More than 300 friends and family members attended to pay their last respects before the cremation.
Previously, Sinar Harian reported that a boat capsized at 10.30pm on Pulau Perhentian on Saturday (June 28), resulting in three deaths.
The other victims were Arumugam Sativelo, 40, and his child, Sarrvihka Arumugam, 3.
The boat was reportedly carrying 15 passengers aged between three and 40 years old and capsized after being hit by large waves while travelling from Pulau Perhentian Kecil to Pulau Perhentian Besar.
