22 dead in Kerala boat tragedy; judicial probe ordered

Local people alleged that the boat was overloaded and it operated flouting the norm that services should not be operated after 5 pm

The Kerala government has ordered a judicial probe into the Tanur boat mishap that claimed 22 lives on Sunday.

The government also ordered a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each to the family of the deceased. The government will also meet the treatment expenses of those injured.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who visited the mishap spot and relatives of victims, announced the probe and compensation.

Apart from the 22 deaths, ten were hospitalised while five managed to save themselves by swimming to the shore following the mishap near the Ottumpuram Thoovaltheeram beach at Tanir in Malappuram district on Sunday evening.

Nine of a family dead

Among the 22 dead, nine were from one family and two were their close relatives. Wives and children of siblings Saithalavi and Siraj of Kunnumal near Parappanamgadi in Malappuram were killed. A ten-month-old child was among those killed.

Four members of another family of Chettipadi were also killed.

The police registered a case in connection with the incident. Amid allegations of the fishing boat-turned-tourist boat flouting norms, the boat owner was reported missing.

Even as around 40 persons took tickets for the boat ride, some reportedly did not enter the boat, owing to fear of overloading. The permitted capacity of the boat was said to be only around 25.

The search operation at the mishap spot was continues.