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Mumbai: 45-year-old Ganesh, who survived the Mumbai boat accident, says that when he saw a speedboat-like boat coming rapidly towards the boat on whose deck he was standing, he thought that something unpleasant might happen. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has given information about this accident. He said that a boat named ‘Neel Kamal’ met with an accident on Wednesday afternoon at around 3:55 pm. 101 people were rescued safely and 13 people died in the accident. (accident) Among the dead are 10 civilians and 3 Navy personnel. Two people are seriously injured, who have been admitted to the Navy hospital.
Devendra Fadnavis said, “With the help of 11 crafts and 4 helicopters, the Navy, Coast Guard and Police have carried out rescue operations. The final information about the missing people will be available on Thursday morning. The bereaved families will be given an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. The entire incident will be investigated by the police and the Navy.” Ganesh, a survivor of the accident, said, “The boat, which later turned out to be a naval boat, was circling in the Arabian Sea, while our boat was heading towards Elephanta Island, a popular tourist destination near Mumbai. I boarded the boat at 3.30 pm.” The thought of the naval boat colliding came to mind He said, “For a moment, the thought came to my mind that the naval boat could collide with our boat, and in the next few seconds it happened.” Ganesh said that at the time of the accident, he was standing on the deck of the ill-fated Neel Kamal boat. Ganesh, a resident of Hyderabad, is among the 99 people rescued after this accident. He told that there were more than 100 passengers including children on the boat. He said, “After buying the ticket at 3.30 pm, I boarded the boat and went to the deck.”
‘I was watching the Arabian Sea and the sky of Mumbai’
Ganesh said, “When I was watching the Arabian Sea and the sky of Mumbai, the boat was about eight to 10 km away from the coast, I saw that a ship like a speed boat was circling near our boat at full speed.”
He told that in the accident, a naval personnel on board the boat died after his leg was cut off.
He said, “As soon as the boat collided with our boat, the sea water started coming into our ship, after which the captain of the boat told the passengers to wear life jackets as the boat was about to capsize.” Ganesh said, “I took the life jacket, went up and jumped into the sea.” After swimming for 15 minutes, another boat rescued him He said that he kept swimming for 15 minutes, then he was rescued by another boat nearby and brought to the Gateway of India along with others. He said that the rescue team of Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Police reached the boat within half an hour of the collision. He said, “I was in the first group of 10 passengers rescued.” There were not enough life jackets in the boat: Matham Bangalore resident Vinayak Matham was also among the lucky ones who survived this accident. He told ‘PTI-Bhasha’ that he was aboard this ill-fated boat along with his two colleagues. He said, “At first I thought the naval craft personnel were out for fun as their boat was circling around our boat.”
He said, “There were not enough life jackets in the boat.”
He said, “When the passengers boarded the boat, they should have been made to wear life jackets.”
