13 dead, in ferry-Navy speed boat collision off Mumbai coast

In a major mishap, as many as 13 persons, including an Navy man, lost their lives, while more than 99 other tourist passengers on board a private ferry boat were rescued after it was hit by a speed boat belonging to the Indian Navy in the Arabian Sea, off the Gateway of India in south Mumbai on Wednesday.

Confirming that the mishap took place due to a hit by a Navy vessel, a Defence spokesperson said late in the evening: “At about 1600 hours on December 18 a Navy craft undergoing engine trials lost control and collided with a passenger ferry Neel Kamal off Karanja, Mumbai. The ferry was carrying passengers from Gateway of India to Elephanta Island. The accident has reportedly led to the tragic loss of 13 lives including one Navy man and two Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) personnel onboard the Naval craft,” the Defence spokesperson said. The Navy pegged the number of survivors at 99. “The survivors -- picked up by the Navy and civil craft in the area -- have been transferred to jetties and hospitals in the vicinity,” the Defence spokesperson said.

The private boat named “Neel Kamal” with many passengers on board was on its way from the Gateway of India to the Gharapuri Island, where there is UNESCO World Heritage Site of Elephanta Caves. The Indian Navy boat had six persons on board.

Search and rescue efforts were immediately launched by the Navy in coordination with the Coast Guard and Marine Police. Four Naval helicopters, 11 Naval craft, one Coast Guard boat and three Marine Police boats are undertaking rescue efforts. Given that the collision between the two vessels was very intense, there were casualties from both the passenger boat and Navy vessel.

Owing to the impact of the hit, ‘Neel Kamal’ broke down, overturned and sank with the passengers on board thrown into the sea. Before long, the videos of the tragedy, clicked by passengers from other ferries in the vicinity, showed ghastly shots of people screaming for help, throwing their arms and legs to remain afloat or attempting to hold their near and dear ones from sinking in chilly sea waters.

The mishap took place off Uran-Karanja, which falls in the Raigad district, at around 4 pm, immediately after which a massive multi-agency Search and Rescue (S&R) operation was launched. “Accounting of all personnel  is in progress along with S&R efforts in the area,” the chief Navy spokesperson said. Teams of the 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.

Talking to media persons, the owner of the vessel, Rajendra Padte, said that the ‘Neel Kamal’ had departed on its regular tourism voyage to Elephanta Islands around 3.15 pm and barely a couple of hours later the mishap was reported. He claimed that  his ferry vessel had no role to play in the mishap.

“An Indian Navy speedboat first encircled my boat, then zoomed off, and returned again at high speed and rammed into ‘Neelkamal’. All the tourists were wearing life-jackets which are now compulsory. More than a dozen other boats are engaged in the rescue operations,” Padte said.

Peasants & Workers Party of India (PWP) General Secretary and ex-legislator Jayant P Patil, who was present at the mishap site, alleged that the blame lay with the Navy vessel, “Neel Kamal sank into the water soon after it was hit by the Navy vessel”. As is the practice, the Indian Navy will order an inquiry into the incident to establish the circumstances leading to the mishap and fix responsibility for the tragedy.