DMK leader T.R. Baalu on Thursday requested the Centre to retrieve the bodies of the 18 Indians, including six from Tamil Nadu, who were killed in a blast in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and also provide compensation to their kin.

The 18 Indian workers were among 23 people killed in the LPG tanker blast at a ceramic factory in Khartoum on Tuesday.

Expressing grief over the situation, the senior politician said the government should take action as quickly as possible.

"I request through you sir (Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla) that External Affairs Minister (S. Jaishankar) would kindly see that all the bodies brought as quickly as possible and proper compensation should be given by the Minister as well as the Sudan government. Six Tamil people also died in the blast," Baalu said.

Calling it a very sad incident, BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudy also urged the External Affairs Minister to bring back the bodies and facilitate compensation for their family members from Sudan government.IANS