A third Australian has died in India after contracting coronavirus

Sunil Khanna, 51, had travelled to India to visit his elderly parents, who he wanted to bring back to Australia.

A COVID-19 care centre set up at Shehnai Banquet Hall in Delhi. Source: Sipa USA Pradeep Gaur/SOPA Images/Sipa

A third Australian has been confirmed to have died in India after contracting COVID-19, as the country records a world record spike in new deaths from the virus.

Sunil Khanna, a 51-year-old from Sydney's west, died in an Indian hospital on 29 April after travelling to the country to visit his elderly parents.

A day later, his mother, an 83-year-old who also contracted coronavirus but was not an Australian citizen, died at home.

“April 2021 is a month I would really like to forget. I lost my brother and mother in the space of 24 hours,” Sunil’s brother Sanjay told SBS News on Wednesday night, holding back tears.

Sunil's Khanna's brother, Sanjay Source: SBS News

Sunil was planning on bringing both his parents back to Australia. He and Sanjay's father, 83, remains in India, where he is "recovering from COVID-19 alone".

Sanjay is urging the federal government to allow him to bring his father to Australia.

“[My father] is a bit teary and I am trying to keep his spirits high that I‘ll try and get him here, but I need help,” Sajay said.

“That's what my request to the Australian government is, that they allow me to bring my father, who is my last remaining family member still alive, here.

“I have nobody else.”

News of Mr Khanna's death follows those of a 47-year-old Australian businessman and a 59-year-old permanent resident, which were revealed earlier this month.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been contacted for comment.

India recorded 4,529 COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, the highest single-day spike of fatalities anywhere in the world since the beginning of the pandemic.

More than 267,000 new cases were added, taking the number of known infections to 25.5 million, second only to the United States.

At the current pace, India could overtake the US next month. Since the start of April, the number of COVID-19 cases has doubled and more than 100,000 people have died.

Around 9,000 Australians remain trapped in India.

The government's first repatriation flight for Australians stranded there following the end of its controversial travel ban touched down in Darwin half-empty last weekend, after dozens of people tested positive to COVID-19 and were prevented from boarding.

It later emerged several people barred from the flight due to positive COVID-19 tests soon tested negative.

With AFP.