<p>Smitha Maurya, who saw the mishap from another boat close by, said there was no life jacket or life guard in the boat.<br /><br />A tourist from Tamil Nadu, who managed to swim to safety, said the accident took place within half an hour after the cruise began. <br /><br />The boat tilted when most of those on board moved to one side to have a better glimpse of a herd of deer grazing close to the bank.<br /><br /> He said the boat sank in the middle of the lake. I don’t know how I managed to escape from the capsized boat,” he said.<br /><br />Most of the tourists who boarded the boat were from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Delhi, he said.<br /><br />Smitha’s husband Pankaj Maurya said four to five boats were cruising in the lake at the time of the accident. <br /><br />“We were shocked to see the boat turning to one side and getting submerged. Immediately, we started the rescue operation by throwing air-filled tubes and rope and whatever we could place hands on”, he said.<br /><br />According to them, official rescuers, including police and forest officials, came about 30 minutes after the mishap.<br /><br />Pankaj Maurya said he informed about the accident to the driver of his vehicle, who was on the shore, over mobile phone, who passed the information to the police.<br />There were no prior instructions on safety aspects by the boat crew before undertaking the journey. <br /><br />All they had said was that no accident had taken place in the lake in the last 50 years, he said.</p>
<p>Smitha Maurya, who saw the mishap from another boat close by, said there was no life jacket or life guard in the boat.<br /><br />A tourist from Tamil Nadu, who managed to swim to safety, said the accident took place within half an hour after the cruise began. <br /><br />The boat tilted when most of those on board moved to one side to have a better glimpse of a herd of deer grazing close to the bank.<br /><br /> He said the boat sank in the middle of the lake. I don’t know how I managed to escape from the capsized boat,” he said.<br /><br />Most of the tourists who boarded the boat were from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Delhi, he said.<br /><br />Smitha’s husband Pankaj Maurya said four to five boats were cruising in the lake at the time of the accident. <br /><br />“We were shocked to see the boat turning to one side and getting submerged. Immediately, we started the rescue operation by throwing air-filled tubes and rope and whatever we could place hands on”, he said.<br /><br />According to them, official rescuers, including police and forest officials, came about 30 minutes after the mishap.<br /><br />Pankaj Maurya said he informed about the accident to the driver of his vehicle, who was on the shore, over mobile phone, who passed the information to the police.<br />There were no prior instructions on safety aspects by the boat crew before undertaking the journey. <br /><br />All they had said was that no accident had taken place in the lake in the last 50 years, he said.</p>
