Blue trousers that he had on during his last video call with his wife, a patch of white hair at the back of his head: That’s how Ravi Gopal’s family identified his partially burnt body when it was handed over to them by the authorities on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old was killed in a suspected missile strike on the factory he worked at in Riyadh, amid the ongoing tensions in West Asia.

His family said they were told that on the evening of March 18, most workers had left for prayers while Ravi and a few others were still at work inside the factory. That’s when missiles suddenly struck the premises, killing Ravi.

“He was speaking to his wife at the time… when the line suddenly went dead mid-conversation. She initially assumed that his phone battery had run out,” said his elder brother Manmohan Dayal. “Later, a man from the state, Ram Niwas, who was working alongside my brother, told us about the incident.”

The details were confirmed by the Indian Embassy in Riyadh a day later, he said. On March 20, the Indian Embassy had announced that an Indian national was killed in Saudi Arabia due to the “recent events of March 18”.

Two days ago, Ravi’s family was informed by the Embassy that his body would be repatriated to India. “The Embassy shared details of the flight on which the body was being sent,” said Manmohan, who works in a private job in Lucknow.

On Wednesday morning, Manmohan, along with government officials and family members, arrived at Lucknow airport to receive the body, which was later taken by ambulance to their home, Baghain village in Sitapur district, for the last rites.

“We were able to identify him from a patch of white hair… and a portion of blue trousers that remained on the body. It was the same one he had been wearing while speaking to his wife on a video call when the incident occurred,” said Ravi’s brother.

Ravi, who had studied up to Class XII, is survived by his wife, Ritu Devi, their four-year-old son, brothers and parents.

He had been employed at a plastic manufacturing factory in Riyadh for the past four years and lived in accommodation provided by his employer. Family members said relatives working in the city had helped him get the job. “He was the first member to go abroad for employment and helped support the household,” they said.

The family said he last came home in July 2025 for his sister’s Laxmi wedding and stayed for nearly three months before travelling back to Saudi Arabia.

Manmohan recalled his last conversation with his younger sibling on March 15. “He told us the situation in Riyadh was not good and that he was planning to return to Sitapur soon to start a business… He was also worried about our parents, who are unwell and need money for treatment. He said once he came back to India, he would begin working on it [the business] immediately.”

Rakesh Pal, Naib Tehsildar from Sitapur, who had been deputed to facilitate the process, said the family had been persistently seeking the return of the body, following which the district administration intervened and expedited the necessary procedures.