Mumbai ferry accident death count has increased to 15 after the dead body of a 7-year-old missing boy was recovered on Saturday morning. Naval boats have found the body of Johan Mohammad Nisar Ahmed Pathan, after a three-day-long search operation. The Navy and Coast Guard officials had been searching for the missing body since the accident which occurred after a Navy speedboat crashed into a ferry on December 18. As per the official statement, Of the 113 persons on board both the vessels, 15 have died and 98, including two injured, were rescued. There were six persons on board the Navy craft, of which two survived.
Mumbai ferry accident: what happened on December 18
The deadly incident occurred on December 18 when the speeding Navy craft undergoing engine trials lost control and collided with a passenger ferry, ‘Neel Kamal’, off the Mumbai coast. The ferry, with more than 100 passengers, was on its way from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island.
As per the documents issued by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), the boat had permission to carry 84 passengers and six crew members, but it was overloaded. MMB is conducting an investigation in the matter and has cancelled the licence of the ferry as the vessel was overloaded, thus violating the Inland Vessel Act.
A case has been registered against the Navy craft driver at the Colaba police station, the official said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters on Wednesday that the collision took place as the passenger ferry Neelkamal headed to the Elephanta Caves.
'Parents on ferry planned to toss off the children in sea water'
CISF constable Amol Savant told PTI that panicked parents on the tourist ferry were thinking to throw their children into the sea water as the ferry started sinking. However, a team of CISF marine commandos stopped them with an assurance that everyone will be saved. CISF constable Amol Savant (36) and his two colleagues became the "first responders" after the December 18 accident.
"We were on routine patrol at some distance off the shore when our walkie talkie crackled to inform us that a passenger ferry was sinking. I asked the pilot (speed boat driver) to go full throttle and we reached the accident site about 3-4 kms away in no time," Savant told PTI
"We saw people were ready to throw their children in the ocean water thinking that they would be saved from the sinking ship.I asked them not to panic and not attempt this. We took charge of the situation soon," he added.
ALSO READ | Mumbai ferry tragedy: Indian Navy institutes 'Board of Inquiry' to establish facts of case
(With PTI inputs)
