Mumbai, Dec 19 (IANS) Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi and the Indian Navy on Thursday offered condolences to grieving families of victims who lost their lives in the naval speedboat and passenger ferry collision in the Arabian Sea on Wednesday, even as the search continues for 2 missing persons.
The Indian Navy has ordered a Board of Inquiry to probe the mid-sea accident to establish the facts of the case in which a speedboat out on engine-trials went berserk and rammed into the passenger ferry with over 100 tourists.
The disaster occurred around 5 km off the Gateway of India, leading to four deaths out of the six personnel in the naval speedboat and nine civilians, who were sailing in a private boat, ‘Neelkamal’ to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Elephanta Isles.
Among them was a naval officer and three OEMs, and the civilians, who were mostly tourists from different parts of India, included two minors, six females and the rest males, while two others have yet to be traced.
The search and rescue operations resumed this morning to track the two missing persons in what is billed as one of the worst-ever maritime disasters around Mumbai.
An official said that the Indian Navy has deployed a helicopter, eight ships and one vessel of the Indian Coast Guard for the overnight search operation that continued till this (December 19) evening, while regular ferries to and from Elephanta continued today as usual.
The owner of the ‘Neelkamal’, Rajendra Padte, said that the vessel had departed on its regular tourism voyage to Elephanta Islands at around 3.15 p.m. and barely an hour later the deadly collision tragedy was reported, “but it was not our fault”.
As per officials, the speedboat reportedly developed a snag during the engine trials. The pilot lost control and rammed with full force into the tourist boat, as chilling videos of the incident surfaced late last night.
Peasants & Workers Party of India (PWP) General Secretary and ex-legislator Jayant P. Patil, who was present at the spot, slammed the concerned authorities for the massive tragedy with the ‘Neelkamal’ sinking soon afterward.
President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis plus several Opposition leaders condoled the tragedy and the loss of innocent lives.
The Prime Minister announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh and the CM announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakhs to the kin of each deceased, plus financial assistance to all the injured.
The deceased have been identified as: two minors, Nidhish Rakesh Ahire, 8-year-old boy (Nashik), Mahi Sairam Pavra, 3-year-old girl (Dhule); besides the five women Harshada Rakesh Ahire, 31 (Nashik), Shafina Ashraf Pathan, 34 (Goa), Rama Ratidevi Gupta, 50 (Palghar), Pragnya Vinod Kamble, 39 (Navi Mumbai).
The other males who drowned in the catastrophe include T. Deepak, around 40, and Mahendrasingh Vijaysingh Shekhawat, 31, both with Indian Navy (Mumbai and Raigad), Rakesh Nanaji Ahire, 34 (Nashik), Pravin Ramnath Sharma, 34, (Andhra Pradesh), Mangesh Mahadev Kelkar, 33 (Thane), Mohammed Rehman Qureshi, 35 (Bihar) and Deepak Neelkanth Wakchaure, 50 (Mumbai).
–IANS
qn/pgh
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
