Mumbai:

The body of a seven-year-old boy missing in the ferry-Navy craft crash off the Mumbai coast was recovered on Saturday morning after a three-day-long search operation, an official said.

Naval boats have found the body of Johan Mohammad Nisar Ahmed Pathan, taking the death count in the December 18 tragedy to 15.

The Navy has launched a probe into one of the deadliest crashes in the city’s harbour area.

A naval helicopter and boats of the Navy and Coast Guard were deployed to look for the missing passengers as part of the SAR operation, the official said.

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, the official said.

The tragedy struck 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 the Elephanta Island, a popular tourist attraction which has a collection of ancient caves.

According to 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, a police official said.

The MMB, which is conducting an investigation into the accident, has cancelled the licence of the ferry as the vessel was overloaded, thus violating the Inland Vessel Act. The ferry had a capacity of 90 persons, an official said.

A case has been registered against the Navy craft driver at the Colaba police station, the official said.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections invoked in the FIR included those related to causing death by negligence, actions that endanger the personal safety or life of others, rash or negligent navigation of a vessel and acts of mischief that cause wrongful loss or damage to individuals or the public.

The accident-affected craft is in the custody of the Navy, and police will demand it whenever needed for investigation, the official said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The panic-stricken parents onboard an ill-fated tourist ferry were thinking of tossing their children into the sea water as a desperate measure after their boat started sinking off Mumbai, but 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. Their patrol boat reached the accident site off the Mumbai coast around 4 pm, and they decided to utilise the “golden hour” for first saving the most vulnerable, including the children.

Fourteen people were killed after a Navy boat rammed into the tourist ferry — ‘Neel Kamal’ — on way to the Elephanta Island from the Gateway of India in Mumbai late Wednesday afternoon.

“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 here.

He said he was “astonished to see the accident site. But being a trained soldier, I understood what was to be done and how.” “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,” said the jawan, who is posted with the CISF unit that guards the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Navi Mumbai.

Savant said he too was “shaken initially when he reached the site but then when I saw the children hanging dangerously from whatever was left of the sinking ferry and their helpless parents, I and my colleagues just caught hold of the children and brought them in our boat.” The jawan says they rescued about 6-7 children in the first go followed by women and men.

“There were many hands raised towards us, some screaming, some just requesting to save them. We don’t know how many exactly but we were able to help and rescue as many as 50-60 people who were onboard that ill-fated ferry,” Savant, who joined the CISF in 2010, said.

Sub Inspector (SI) Kheioka Sema (38), posted with the CISF unit that provides counterterrorist security cover to the JNPA, was in the second patrol boat that reached the spot.

“I saw a lady who was in the water wearing a life jacket but she had raised her hands in anticipation that she would be rescued. We rushed to her and gently asked her to put her hands down else the jacket would slip and she would start drowning,” Sema said.

She was saved, he said.

SI Sema, who joined the paramilitary force in 2018, said they administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to maybe 10-12 persons to bring them back to senses and drain out the water they had swallowed.

The two CISF personnel, who had come to Delhi for official work, said a foreigner couple onboard the ferry acted as ‘Good Samaritans’ as they came forward for help and administered CPR to a number of victims.

“We fanned out to scan about a 300-metre radius looking for life. Our teams also picked up bags, life jackets and other stuff from the ocean water the passengers of ‘Neel Kamal’ were carrying,” Sema said.

The two personnel and their other colleagues have been trained in marine operations, commando tactics and amphibious survival and combat techniques.

“Our personnel who are posted to guard sea ports are essentially trained in marine commando operations, combat and survival techniques. They provide an armed security cover to such facilities against any sabotage or terrorist threat,” CISF chief spokesperson and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Deepak Verma said.

“These men and women are also taken to the Chilika lake in Odisha as part of a special marine training capsule. We are proud of these personnel who were part of the rescue operation in Mumbai,” he said.

The force, as per officials, will recommend the names of the personnel who were involved in this rescue operation for the ‘Jeevan Raksha Padak’ (or the life saving medal) apart from granting them the highest recognition in their service records.

“The accident site was way beyond the area of responsibility of our two security units deployed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) and the Mumbai Port Trust but the personnel displayed fine professionalism and devotion to duty by being the first responders to the tragedy and saving numerous lives,” a senior CISF officer said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

Mumbai’s Colaba Police have written to the Indian Navy and the Maharashtra Maritime Board, seeking detailed information about the accident in the Arabian Sea between a ferry and a naval boat that killed 14.

Earlier this week, an Indian Navy boat conducting trial lost control and crashed into a ferry boat on its way to Elephanta island, claiming 14 lives and injuring several others. The police asked why the trial was being conducted on such a busy maritime route and also sought to know who gave permission for the same. Police sources say the protocols in place for the trial are also being investigated.

Under investigation is also the claim that the naval boat had a throttle problem, which caused it to lose control and crash into the passenger boat.

Further, the probe is checking if the ferry boat had seated more passengers than capacity.

The Navy on Thursday instituted a Board of Inquiry to probe the collision. Meanwhile, authorities made life jackets mandatory for all people taking boat rides from the Gateway of India.

The toll in the accident rose to 14 on Thursday when the body of a man who was among the two missing passengers was found. Search operation continues to locate a seven-year-old boy who is still missing. Of the 113 persons on board both the vessels, 98, including two injured, were rescued. There were six persons on board the Navy craft, of which two survived.

Mumbai:

A day after a ferry-Navy craft collision claimed 14 lives off the Mumbai coast, authorities on Thursday made life jackets mandatory for all people taking boat rides from the Gateway of India.

Some tourists, however, said the life jackets would be of help only if people know how to use them. The authorities should instruct people how to use the life jackets in case of an emergency, they said.

Some survivors of the tragedy on Wednesday claimed the ferry did not have enough life jackets.

Fourteen persons, including a Navy personnel and two contractual naval employees, were killed and nearly 100 rescued after the Navy craft carrying out engine trials dashed against the passenger ferry ‘Neel Kamal’ on Wednesday afternoon.

The ferry was carrying more than 100 passengers from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island.

Meanwhile, a Mantralaya official said the MMB earlier in the day submitted an interim report on the incident to the state government.

“The MMB has issued a show-cause notice to the owner of the boat Neel Kamal in connection with the tragedy and sought an explanation,” the official added.

Devidas Jadhav, an assistant boat inspector deputed at the Gateway of India, told PTI that they have made the use of life jackets mandatory for every passenger taking ferry boat to Mandva near Alibaug (in neighbouring Raigad), Elephanta Island or while going for a short ride off Mumbai harbour.

Jadhav, part of the Maharashtra Maritime Board, is tasked with ensuring every passenger on such boats mandatorily wears a life jacket.

Boat owners from Bhaucha Dhakka (a wharf near the Dockyard Road here) said they insist that people wear life jackets, but passengers are reluctant many a times though they could prove life-saving in case of an emergency.

Ferry boats operate from Bhaucha Dhakka to trans-harbour locations like Uran and Revas in neighbouring Raigad district.

Boat owner Sameer Bamane said some passengers are reluctant to wear life jackets, citing the reason that they feel uncomfortable due to excessive heat and sweat during humid conditions.

“Tourists here do not want to wear the life jacket, but the same people use it without any complaint when they go to other countries like Singapore or Malaysia. It is because the authorities there do not allow a boat to move if even one person is without a life jacket,” he said.

Azahar Mulla, owner of boat ‘Aayesha’ at Gateway, said they are facing challenges in enforcing the mandatory life jacket rule because passengers are reluctant to wear them, with many claiming they can swim well.

“Passengers only wear it when Maharashtra Maritime Board personnel are present at the jetty. Otherwise, they ignore the boat owners’ instructions,” Mulla claimed.

A source at Bhaucha Dhakka said MMB officials, apart from going about enforcing the life jacket rule, have also instructed boat operators not to allow passengers to travel on the upper decks.

“MMB officials are now strictly monitoring compliance of this rule,” the source said.

A boat owner from Bhaucha Dhakka said wearing life jackets was always mandatory but the rule was seldom enforced.

A master driver of a launch operating from Gateway told PTI many passengers wear life jackets while departing and arriving but remove them once they are off shore despite repeated reminders to keep them on at all times.

Sangeeta Dalvi, who was travelling to Mandva with her husband for some work, said passengers must use life jackets as they can save lives in case of an emergency.

She also said there was no need for the people to be scared after Wednesday’s accident.

“Such tragedies do not happen everyday. We do not avoid travelling by roads though everyday several accidents occur on roads,” Dalvi added.

Suyesh Sharma, a tourist from Chhattisgarh who came to the Gateway of India to take a boat ride as he had time before his return by an evening flight, said life jackets does not prove much helpful in the high sea unless people know how to use them.

“Life jackets could prove helpful only when you know how to use them. Authorities should also tell people how to use them in case of emergency,” said Sharma, who often takes up adventure sports like river rafting.

When contacted to obtain confirmation about these developments, MMB chief executive officer Dr Manik Gusal said Port Officer Captain Parveen Khara would speak.

Mr Khara, however, did not respond to calls or text messages.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mumbai:

The body of a 43-year-old man who was among the two missing passengers after a Navy craft rammed into their ferry off the Mumbai coast, was found on Thursday, police said.

The body was found near the ferry, police said. The death count in the tragedy has now gone up to 14.

Search operation continues to locate a seven-year-old boy who is still missing a day after the tragedy, a police official added.

A naval helicopter and boats of the Navy and Coast Guard were deployed on Thursday to look for the missing passengers.

Eight boats, including those from the Navy and Coast Guard are involved in the Search and Rescue (SAR) operation, the official said.

Of the 113 persons on board both the vessels, 14 died and 98, including two injured, were rescued. There were six persons on board the Navy craft, of which two survived, the official said.

Thirteen persons, including Navy personnel and two contractual naval employees, were killed when the Navy craft dashed against the passenger ferry ‘Neel Kamal’, carrying more than 100 passengers from the Gateway of India to the Elephanta Island, on Wednesday afternoon.

The Navy on Thursday instituted a Board of Inquiry to probe the collision of the naval boat with the passenger ferry.

“A Board of Inquiry has been ordered into the accident to establish the facts of the case,” the Navy said.

Navy chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi offered condolences to the grieving families of those who lost their lives in the accident and wished for a speedy and full recovery of those who were injured.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)