11 From Delhi Killed In Kerala Boat Capsize; Two Missing
Eleven people from Delhi, including three each from two neighbouring families, were among 39 people killed in a boat capsize in Kerala's Idukki district, officials said on Thursday. Of them, eight were women and another
Eleven people from Delhi, including three each from two neighbouring families, were among 39 people killed in a boat capsize in Kerala's Idukki district, officials said on Thursday.
Of them, eight were women and another is a teenaged boy. Three members each of two families in Paschim Vihar in Delhi, who had gone as part of a 10-member group for the holiday, were killed in the mishap on Wednesday.
Pradeep Jain, an official of a pharmaceutical company, his wife Sandhya and daughter Shruti died while Shruti's husband Baladutt and a nine-year-old girl Nidhi survived.
Their neighbours Vimla Jain, Sangeeta Sharma and Partha Sharma (19) also died, officials said, adding it was Nidhi who identified the bodies.
Other deceased are Arun Kaur, her daughter and Alka. Two people are yet to be traced -- a woman identified as wife of Harinder Singh of west Delhi's Janakpuri who died in the incident, and Amith, whose wife Saliha was killed.
Thirty nine bodies have so far been recovered after the boat capsized in Thekkady Lake while 40 were rescued, officials said. Six bodies are yet to be identified.
Besides the 11 victims from Delhi, nine are from Tamil Nadu, five from West Bengal, four from Andhra Pradesh, three from Karnataka and one from Punjab.
Kerala Government officials said that the bodies of victims belonging to the capital will be flown to the city soon after the post mortem is over.
"The government is taking all measures to help the families of the victims in Delhi. The bodies will be flown to the capital soon after the post mortem and embalming is over," a senior official said.
A control room has been set up in Kerala House in Delhi where people can contact for details. The numbers are 011-23342320/30411500. The Kerala helpline numbers are 09446052361 and 04869222620.
The victim from Punjab has been identified as Rana Gowda. The deceased who belong to West Bengal are Meena Das, Kalpana Das, Nirmala Das, Anoopa Bhandari and Deepak Kaur. All are from Kolkata.
Two of the victims from Andhra Pradesh are minors -- four-year-old Sai Mansi and Devendra Verma (13). The others are Sunil Kumar and Sneha. Apart from Verma who is from Guntur, all others are from Hyderabad. Three victims from Karnataka are Vijaya Sailesh, Soorya Prakash, and Rajeshekaran.
Those from Tamil Nadu are Aditya, Anusha Devi, Sandhya, Dharani, Jayaprakash, Rahul, Ilakia, Prakatheswari and Sudha.
Meanwhile the death toll in the tourist spot tragedy at Thekkady in Kerala rose to 35 with four more bodies recovered from the ill-fated boat in the wee hours of Thursday.
According to official sources, a team of rescuers which included divers extricated the bodies from the partly submerged boat which capsized yesterday in the famous Thekkady Lake in Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary in Idukki district.
District collector Ashok Kumar Singh had confirmed on Wednesday night that a total of 31 bodies, including 14 women and six children, were recovered from the state-run double-deck boat which carried 74 tourists.
According to eyewitnesses, the tragedy occurred when the boat 'Jalakanyaka' tilted after several tourists moved to one side on sighting elephants in the Wildlife Sanctuary on the banks of the lake. The boat was half submerged in the mishap.
The toll is likely to go up as few more people are yet to be traced, the sources said, adding, the search operation continued in the morning hours. PTI