13 dead, 101 rescued after Navy speed-boat rams into ferry off Mumbai coast

Mumbai/Raigad: At least 13 people died as a ferry-boat capsized after being dashed by an Indian Navy speed-boat in the Arabian Sea off the Gateway of India in Mumbai on Wednesday.

More than 100 passengers and five crew members were on board the boat, according to Mumbai Police and BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation.

The Indian Navy speedboat had six persons on board.

A massive multi-agency Search and Rescue (S&R) operations is underway to trace five missing persons.

“Thirteen person have died in the accident. It is an unfortunate incident,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters in the Vidhan Bhavan Complex in Nagpur.

Of the 13 deceased, 10 are civilians while three are from the Navy.

Fadnavis announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.

“There would be a thorough probe by the Maharashtra government and Indian Navy,” said Fadnavis.

As of now, two persons admitted to hospital are critical.

Asked about the reasons of the accident, Fadnavis said: “The speedboat was being tested. There was technical malfunctioning. The throttle seem to have failed, thats what appears from the visuals.”

The incident took place off Uran-Karanja, which falls in the Raigad district.

The boat - Neelkamal - was on its way from the Gateway of India to the Gharapuri Island, which houses the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Elephanta Caves.

“Five persons are still missing,” officials of the Disaster Management Unit of the BMC said.

According to Additional Commissioner of Police Abhinav Deshmukh, who heads the South Region of Mumbai, S&R operations are underway.

Teams of Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, Mumbai Police and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority are involved in the operations.

Eleven Navy boats, three Marine Police boats, one Coast Guard boat and four helicopters are involved in the S&R operations.

“Twenty persons have been rescued, some people are missing. This is just the preliminary information that we have received,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the legislature session currently underway in the winter capital of Nagpur.

Couple of videos have surfaced in which a speedboat hit the passenger ferry.

“I have just come to know about the incident…apparently some speed board has it the passenger ferry,” former legislator Jayant Patil said.

The Indian Coast Guard has confirmed that the speed boat does not belong to it.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde spoke to Mumbai City Collector Sanjay Yadav and Raigad Collector Kisan Jawale and reviewed the situation.

He also spoke to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Ports) Sudhakar Pathare.

The Yellow Gate police station is overseeing the investigations.

Videos of the tragedy, clicked by passengers from other ferries showed gruesome sights of people screaming for help, flaying their arms and legs to remain afloat or attempting to hold their near and dear ones from drowning.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said: “Deeply saddened by the loss of precious lives in the collision between passenger ferry and Indian Navy craft in Mumbai Harbour. Injured personnel, including naval personnel & civilians from both vessels, are receiving urgent medical care. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. Extensive search & rescue efforts are ongoing by the Indian Navy & Coast Guard, deploying multiple assets, to locate missing persons.”