A convoy of Bolt and Wolt riders have followed the coffin of a courier who was killed in a hit-and-run crash.
Hundreds of mourners turned out to pay their respects to Khim Bahadur Pun, 42, who died when the Kymco motorbike he was riding was hit by a Maserati Levante, allegedly driven by an underage driver.
Around 200 delivery drivers in scooters and motorbikes followed the father-of-three’s coffin on Wednesday as it made its way to the airport, from where the remains will be repatriated to Nepal.
Crowds gathered earlier at the Mater Dei mortuary to pay tribute to Khim, who had been working in Malta for three years before his death.
The hearse carried the body to the airport, where mourners broke out in song to honour him.
“As we travelled to the airport’s cargo section, all of us Nepalese prayed for his departed soul to rest in peace in heaven,” Rems Khanal from the group Non-Resident Nepali Association said.
“Even though we are in a foreign land, we try as much as we can to follow our rituals,” Khanal said.
The remains will be stored at the airport before they are taken to Nepal on a flight that takes off on Wednesday evening.
The dozens gathered to bid farewell at the Mater Dei mortuary.WT Global, the fleet that Pun worked for, said they were paying for the body’s repatriation. They will also be providing some financial assistance to Pun’s family.
Meanwhile, the Nepalese community is also gathering funds for the family, raising almost €30,000 in three days.
Following his death, his heartbroken sister said he was the main breadwinner in the family and was planning to return to Nepal within a few months. She said his wife “has not stopped crying since”.
He was on his motorbike carrying a full Wolt delivery bag in the early hours of Sunday when a Maserati Levante crashed into him.
An unlicensed 17-year-old driver who was allegedly found to be above the legal alcohol limit has been charged with causing his death. The teenager is also accused of fleeing the scene and failing to inform the authorities.
Pun is the second known Nepalese food delivery driver to have been killed in an accident. In February 2022, a truck toppled over on Marsa’s Aldo Moro Road, smashing into lampposts and dropping its load of scrap metal onto opposing lanes of traffic, killing 28-year-old Nepali food delivery driver Ajay Shrestha.
Eighteen people have so far died on Maltese roads this year.