FRONT PAGE | Thursday, November 5, 2009 | Email | Print | 
8 students drown in Kerala boat mishap
Pioneer News Service | Malappuram
Seven boys and a girl, all higher secondary school students, drowned in the Chaliyar river at Areacode, Malappuram district in Kerala, when the rope-operated country boat they were using to cross the river capsized at about 4.30 pm on Wednesday. Many students suffered injuries and the condition of some of them was reported to be serious.
The students of Subul’u’Salam Higher Secondary School, Moorkanad, were returning home after the school hours when the tragedy struck. Most of the students knew swimming and this was why the toll was limited to eight. Though searches were on even late in the evening, revenue and police officials said they assumed no more casualties had occurred.
The victims, all Plus 1 and Plus 2 students aged 16 and 17, were identified as Thwayyeba, Suhail, Shameen, Shinab, Siraj, Thoufeeq, Muhammad Mufti and Shahidali. One of the seriously injured students, Jibin, was admitted to the Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode. Chaliyar river borders Malappuram and Kozhikode districts. The tragedy shocked the State as it came close on the heels of the boat tragedy at Thekkady on
September 30 in which 45 tourists from outside Kerala were killed. Just on Tuesday morning, a seven-year-old student, Sojo, had drowned in Thiruvananthapuram while he was crossing a river by a rope-operated raft.
Eyewitnesses said that the boat accident at Areacode occurred when the small country boat, operated by the occupants by pulling on the rope tied across the river connecting the banks, carrying the students reached the deepest spot in the river. Mohsin, a student who swam to safety, said the boat had shook violently when it reached the middle of the river, said to be ten metres deep, and some students stood up in panic. This could have been the reason why the boat capsized upside down, he said.
Students who swam to safety and rescued by the sand-mining workers nearby said the boat could have been carrying 30 to 40 students, far above its capacity. There was no oarsman or boat-operator at the quay and the students themselves were operating it by pulling on the rope connecting the two banks of the river. The people in the area had been demanding construction of a hanging bridge here for years.
Joydina, who had swum to safety, said they used to cross the river regularly on their trips to the school and back. “Most of us knew swimming. The boys in the boat had saved several girls. There were seven or eight girls on the boat. Also, the sand-mining workers came to the rescue. The bodies of the victims were recovered by the workers and the local people who gathered there in large numbers immediately,” Joydina, whose four classmates died in the accident, said.
Local people and students said that at least 500 students of the Subul’u’Ssalam school use the boat every day to cross the river. Residents of Areacode said the students had been frequently warned against overcrowding.
There was no strong current in the river though the water level was high due to barrage downstream at Kavanakkallu, Edavannappara. Local people said the tragedy could have been more gruesome if the shutters of this regulator-cum-bridge had been open.
By late evening, a 15-member team of the Indian Navy joined the Fire Force and police in search operations. The District Collector, Revenue officials and people’s representatives like PV Abdul Wahab, MP, MI Shanavas, MP, and ET Muhammad Basheer, MP, coordinated the search and rescue efforts. Meanwhile, Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan ordered the District Collector to submit a report after a detailed inquiry.
Email | Print | Rate:
|