Mumbai Boat Tragedy: A fatal accident between a private ferry and a speedboat of the Navy has taken at least 13 lives and questioned serious safety measures off the Mumbai coast. Over 115 passengers were rescued after the ferry, carrying over 110 passengers from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island, capsized on Wednesday. Survivors said that life jackets were not issued in the ferry, which has multiplied the tragedy.
According to the Indian Navy, the speedboat involved in the collision was undergoing engine trials when a malfunction caused it to lose control, which led to the accident. The horrifying moments after the crash were described by passengers on the ferry.
Mumbai Boat Tragedy: Survivors Recount Horror
Gautam Gupta, a resident of Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur, said that passengers had to pull others out of the water without any safety gear. He is undergoing treatment in St. George’s Hospital along with his cousin. His aunt is still missing. “I saw the Navy speedboat doing stunts a while before the accident,” says Shravan Kumar, a resident of Rajasthan’s Jalore district. He had got up to record a video of the stunt and witnessed the accident unfolding.
The ferry staff were criticized for not having any emergency response. Survivors reported that no announcements were made, and the passengers had to find and use life jackets on their own. This lack of preparedness added to the chaos and risk following the collision.
The Mumbai police have filed an FIR against the driver of the Navy speedboat after a complaint was filed by survivor Natharam Chaudhary from Sakinaka. Investigations are still on to find out the cause of the incident and whether negligence played a role.
After the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences to the families of victims and declared compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the next of kin of those who died and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
This incident brought the focus on maritime safety regulations; many people questioned whether a simple safety measure such as life jackets on a ferry existed. Survivors and other advocates are calling for the tighter enforcement of these standards in order to ensure such tragedy does not repeat itself again in the future.
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