In a gruesome maritime disaster, at least 13 persons drowned, including three Indian Navy sailors plus another 99 were rescued from the Arabian Sea when a naval speedboat on engine-trials lost control and abruptly rammed into a chockful passenger ferry, near the Raigad Coast, off Gateway of India, here on Wednesday evening, officials said.
The passenger boat, which was reportedly a private catamaran named 'Neelkamal', was carrying around 110 tourists along with five crew members to the world-famous UNESCO Heritage Elephanta Islands, and the accident occurred around 5.15 p.m., said BMC Disaster Control.
Official sources said that the Indian Navy's rigid inflatable boat crashed into the 'Neelkamal' at a high speed, overturning it, and throwing most of the tourists into the Arabian Sea near Uran, Karanja on the Raigad coast, approximately 10 km from the Gateway of India.
According to sources, with the hit, the ferry, 'Neelkamal', might have broken down and turned on its side with the passengers flung into the sea before starting to sink.
Videos of the tragedy clicked by aghast passengers from other ferries in the vicinity showed gruesome shots of people screaming for help, flailing their arms and legs to remain afloat or attempting to hold their near and dear ones from sinking in chilly sea waters.
On receiving the SOS from multiple sources on the disaster, a massive rescue operation was launched by the Indian Navy's four helicopters and 15 other vessels including the Marine Police, Indian Coast Guard, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority, along with local fishers and other ferry boats to save the victims.
By 9 p.m., the authorities confirmed 13 deaths including three Indian Navy sailors and 10 civilians, several 'critical' in different hospitals, and over 100 other tourists whose condition is reported to be 'stable' in various hospitals, while the search continues for another five still suspected 'missing' as darkness fell.
It was not known, at least not immediately, whether the doomed 'Neelkamal' was carrying passengers on board as per the norms on loads and other safety requirements for such vessels.
Rajendra Padte, owner of the vessel, said that the 'Neelkamal' left on its regular tourist sail to Elephanta Islands around 3.15 pm and barely two hours down the line, disaster had struck, "but it was not our fault.".
An Indian Navy speedboat first circled my boat, then zoomed off, and returned again at high speed and banged into 'Neelkamal'. All the tourists were wearing life jackets which are now compulsory. More than a dozen other boats are engaged in the rescue operations," a shaken Padte told mediapersons.
A livid Peasants & Workers Party of India (PWP) General Secretary and ex-legislator Jayant P. Patil, who was present at the spot slammed the concerned authorities that resulted in the tragedy and the 'Neelkamal sunk into the water soon thereafter.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the collision of the naval vessel with the civilian passenger boat, in Mumbai this evening.
He also declared an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for all the injured in the mishap.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis made a short announcement in the Legislative Assembly in Nagpur, while Deputy CM Eknath Shinde met Mumbai City Collector Sanjay Yadav and Raigad Collector Kisan Jawale, along with Deputy Commissioner of Police (Ports Zone) Sudhakar Pathare, to give the rescue operations a much needed boost.
A civic official said that 56 are admitted to the JNPA Hospital, 32 in the Naval Dockyard medical facility, one in INHS Ashvini Hospital, nine in St. George Hospital, and 12 are admitted at a hospital on the mainland at Karanja.
Meanwhile, anxious relatives of many of the victims rushed from different parts of Mumbai and other places to the hospitals where their kin were admitted to get details of their welfare, and the Yellowgate Police Station officials, who are handling the case, had a tough time controlling them.
Indian Navy is likely to order an inquiry into the deadly collision that left behind a trail of casualties with 13 being reported dead, amid fear that death toll may surge further.
One of the must-see tourist destinations of Maharashtra is the Elephanta Isles, housing the world-famous group of temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and other Hindu gods and goddesses, said to have been cut in rocks between 1,500-2,200 years ago.
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