Meerut, May 18 (IANS): A Meerut family lost their hope and happiness when post Covid-19 complication snatched away their 23-year-old twins together last week.

Joefred Varghese Gregory and Ralfred were born within minutes of each other. They died of Covid, within hours of each other.

Their father, Gregory Raymond Raphael, recalls that his twin boys did almost everything together.

"Both chose computer engineering, both had jobs in Hyderabad and both caught the deadly virus on the same day -- April 24.

"Last week, after struggling with Covid, they died together, hours after one another.

"It was almost as if I knew that they would either pull through together or they would go away together," said the distraught father.

He said that when he learnt that Joefred had passed away, he told his wife Soja that Ralfred would not return home either.

"They died on May 13 and May 14, hours apart," he said.

"Whatever happened to one, happened to the other too. It has been like this since they were born on April 23, 1997. The twins had a lot of plans for us. They wanted to give us a better life.

"As teachers, we have struggled much to bring up the children well and they wanted to give us back, everything from money to happiness. Before they died, they were planning to leave for Korea and then, perhaps, Germany for work."

Destiny brought them together to the Gregory family and the pandemic took them away.

The Raphaels have a third son, the eldest one, Nelfred. "We were five of us and now we are just three left," said that father.

Nelfred had also tested positive along with his twin brothers on the same day.

"My brothers were admitted to Anand Hospital on May 1 and tested negative for the virus on May 10. On May 13 we received a call form the hospital that Joefred was no more. He had breathing problem earlier in the day. Ralfred was at the same hospital and his condition also deteriorated and he passed away on May 14," said Nelfred.