Mumbai Ferry Capsize: 13 Dead, 101 Rescued After Collision With Navy Boat Off Elephanta Islands

Mumbai: As many as 13 people lost their lives in Wednesday’s Mumbai boat capsize mishap.

The passenger boat named Neelkamal was ferrying around people from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Caves when it capsized off the Mumbai coast after being hit by a Navy boat on Wednesday.

“A Navy boat collided with a passenger vessel named Neelkamal at around 3.55 pm. 101 have been rescued and 13 people have died,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, adding 10 of the deceased are civilians and 3 from Navy.

This is the update at 7.30 pm, and the complete information will be available on Thursday morning.

Announcing ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of deceased from CM’s Relief Fund, Fadnavis said the police and Navy will carry out a thorough probe into the accident.

“The Coast Guard and Navy have joined the search operations. Our ships are in the area and we are searching for survivors. The Coast Guard was alerted by Harbour Master of Mumbai Port Authority. The incident happened at around 4 pm,” Coast Guard inspector general Bhisham Sharma said.

“Rescue efforts launched by the navy in coordination with the Coast Guard and marine police. 11 Navy boats, three boats of Marine Police, and a boat of Coast guard are in the area. Further, four helicopters are undertaking search and rescue,” said an Indian Navy spokesperson.

The Navy boat rammed into a ferry boat off the Mumbai coast on Wednesday afternoon, killing two people, news agencies ANI and PTI.

A video of the mishap, recorded from the passenger ferry, shows a boat carrying four men zigzagging through the sea before suddenly turning and speeding in the direction of the boat.

The boat capsized after being hit by the speedboat at great velocity. There was obvious chaos with video footage from the scene showing passengers wearing life jackets being rescued and transferred to another ferry.

The Navy, Marine Police and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) launched a largescale rescue operation.

Eleven Navy boats, 3 Marine Police vessels and a Coast Guard boat were deployed for the rescue mission. Four helicopters, as well as resources from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority and local fishermen, are assisting in the operation.