C'magaluru woman in coma after scuba diving mishap in US

Kin wait for passport as doctors insist on their presence

A woman from Chikkamagaluru district is battling for life in the US after she met with a mishap during scuba diving.

V Shruti, a native of Lakkavalli in Tarikere taluk in the district, had gone for scuba diving at Hawaii Island, US, recently, when her oxygen mask fell off. Shruti then slipped into coma.

She had recently married Seetharamakrishna of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Seetharamakrishna is a software engineer working with web services provider Yahoo in California, US.

While Shruti continues to battle for her life, her parents back home are going through tense moments waiting for the passport.

The woman’s father Vishwanath, a retired revenue department employee, mother Shakuntala and brother Karthik have applied for passport online, through Tatkal. They have received a message from the passport office, asking them to attend the screening in Bengaluru at 11 am on Tuesday.

Karthik has tweeted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, seeking their intervention for quick issue of passport.

He told DH, “My brother-in-law informed us about the incident on Friday. The doctors attending to Shruti have insisted on the arrival of her parents to continue treatment.”

Arati Krishna, vice-chairman of the NRI committee in the state, claimed ignorance about the matter, but promised to help the family if they contacted her with details.

State BJP president B S Yeddyurappa told reporters in Shivamogga that he had spoken to Sushma and that the family members will get their passports soon.