‘I was sure that the Navy’s speed boat would collide’… Passengers were scared after seeing the speed in the sea, read what they saw with their eyes – Read

A major accident occurred in Maharashtra’s capital Mumbai on Wednesday. The boat ‘Neelkamal’ which was going towards Elephanta Caves with 110 passengers from the Gateway of India was hit by a speed boat of the Indian Navy. After the accident, the boat ‘Neelkamal’ started capsizing in the sea. The rescue operation was immediately started with the help of boats of Navy, JNPT, Coast Guard, Police and local fishermen. 13 people including three sailors died in this accident, while 101 passengers were saved. The rescued people are undergoing treatment in different hospitals. The rescued passenger witnessed the accident and narrated…

Ganesh, 45, a resident of Hyderabad, said that the naval boat was circling in the Arabian Sea, while our boat was going towards Elephanta Island, a popular tourist destination near Mumbai. I boarded the boat named ‘Neelkamal’ at 3.30 pm. I was standing on the deck of the boat when it left. When I saw the naval boat coming towards my boat, for a moment the thought came in my mind that the naval boat might collide with our boat and in the next few seconds it happened.

The boat accident happened 10 kilometers away from the coast

Ganesh told that when I was looking at the Arabian Sea and the sky of Mumbai, the boat was about eight to 10 km from the coast. I saw that the Navy’s speed boat was circling rapidly near our boat. He told that as soon as the speed boat collided with our boat, sea water started coming into our ship, after which the boat driver asked the passengers to wear life jackets because the boat was about to capsize.

Ganesh kept floating in water for 15 minutes

Ganesh told that he immediately took a life jacket, went up and jumped into the sea. He told that he kept swimming for 15 minutes when he was rescued by another boat nearby and brought him along with other people to the Gateway of India. He said that the rescue team of Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Police arrived within half an hour of the collision. Had reached near the boat inside. Ganesh said that I was in the first group of 10 passengers who were rescued.

There were not enough life jackets in the boat ‘Neelkamal’

Bengaluru resident Vinayak Matham was also among the fortunate people who survived this accident. He told that he was traveling on this boat with two of his colleagues. Vinayak said that at first I thought that the Navy craft personnel were out for fun, because their boat was circling around our boat. Vinayak said that there were not enough life jackets in our boat. When passengers boarded the boat, they should have been made to wear life jackets. This is negligence.