Eyewitnesses said the lad and two of his friends were caught unawares by strong waves as they were watching the ship that had strayed off after the rope to its tug snapped. The lifeguards saved two boys, but one is still missing.
"We have not been able to find out the name of the missing boy as his friends are not in a condition to speak. We are trying to find out which school they went to and get some details from the school," Police Inspector Madhukar Chaudhari told IANS.
The Directorate General of Shipping Sunday for the third time suspended efforts - now for the next 15 days - to tow away the grounded vessel due to operational constraints.
The vessel went adrift June 11 from its tug that was towing it from Colombo to Alang in Gujarat, where it was to be broken down as scrap. It is now grounded around five km southwest of Juhu beach.
Since then, the massive 9,000-tonne scrap ship has attracted huge crowds and more than a dozen people have been rescued by lifeguards deployed at the beach.
Published 24 June 2011, 11:21 IST