Mumbai, December 19 (UITV) – 13 people have died in a serious boat accident in Mumbai and 110 people have been rescued so far, while five people are seriously injured. After this incident, Mumbai Police has sent two more boats to speed up the rescue operation and senior police officers have also reached the spot. Initial investigation has revealed that at the time of the accident, none of the people on the boat were wearing life jackets, which is being seen as a serious security lapse.
The accident took place in a private boat, ‘Neel Kamal’, going from Mumbai’s famous Gateway of India to Elephanta Island. The boat capsized in Uran area of Karanja. There were about 30 passengers on the boat, although the exact number of passengers is not yet known. Immediately after the accident, rescue operations were started with the help of Navy, JNPT, Coast Guard, three boats of Yellowgate Police Station and local fishermen.
In the video that surfaced from the spot, it can be seen that the boat was slowly sinking and people were shifting to other boats wearing life jackets. BMC Disaster Control informed that the boat was going to the world famous UNESCO Heritage Elephanta Island carrying about 110 tourists and five crew members. The accident happened around 5:15 pm. According to official sources, the accident happened when the Indian Navy’s speedboat collided with ‘Neelkamal’. After this collision, the boat overturned and most of the tourists fell into the sea, which fell into the Arabian Sea near Uran, Karanja on the Raigad coast, about 10 km from the Gateway of India.
According to sources, the accident happened when the Indian Navy’s speedboat collided with ‘Neelkamal’, due to which the boat overturned and the passengers fell into the sea. As soon as information about this accident was received, four helicopters of the Indian Navy and 15 other ships including Marine Police, Indian Coast Guard, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority started rescue operations. Local fishermen and other boats also played an important role in these rescue operations.
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Speaking to the media, Rajendra Padte, owner of ‘Neelkamal’, said that the boat had left for its regular tourist trip at 3:15 pm and the accident happened just a few hours later. He blamed the Indian Navy speedboat for the accident and said that “it was not our fault.” He said, “An Indian Navy speedboat first surrounded our boat, then moved forward rapidly and again came back at a high speed and collided with our boat. However, all the tourists were wearing life jackets, which are now mandatory.”
Jayant P. Patil, general secretary of Bharatiya Kisan and Shramik Party (PWP) and former MLA, was present at the spot. He strongly criticized the concerned officials, who did not take necessary steps to prevent this accident and due to which ‘Neelkamal’ sank in the water. He said that this entire incident was the result of the negligence of the administration.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep condolences on the accident that took place in Mumbai due to collision between an Indian Navy ship and a civilian passenger boat. He announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of each person killed in the accident and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis gave information about the accident in a brief statement in the Assembly in Nagpur. At the same time, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also contacted Mumbai City Collector Sanjay Yadav and Raigad Collector Kisan Javale, as well as Deputy Commissioner of Police (Port Area) Sudhakar Pathare to expedite the rescue operations and directed them to expedite the rescue operations.
This accident highlights the disregard for safety rules and negligence of the administration. The passengers on the boat were not wearing life jackets, which was a major safety lapse and raises the question whether this accident could have been prevented if safety standards were followed. After this accident, it has become necessary that the administration takes strict steps to prevent such incidents and safety measures should be strictly implemented during sea travel.
This boat accident in Mumbai has once again raised serious questions about the safety of sea travel and after this accident it will be important to see what steps the administration and the concerned authorities take to prevent such incidents.
