Boat carrying 30 passengers capsizes off Mumbai coast, 13 dead, 101 rescued

A boat carrying at least 30 passengers capsized near Mumbai’s Gateway of India on Wednesday killing 13 people. The Neelkamal ferry boat was on its way to Elephanta Island after it departed from Gateway of India.

The accident prompted the Indian Coast Guard to launch a rescue operation and as many as 101 passengers were rescued while one of them has been declared dead. Among those who died in the accident, 10 were passengers while 3 were Navy personnel.

The Indian Navy said that one of its crafts was lost while undertaking engine trials in Mumbai Harbour due to engine malfunction which in turn led the boat to collide with a passenger ferry.

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Today afternoon, an #IndianNavy craft lost control while undertaking engine trials in Mumbai Harbour due to engine malfunction. As a result, the boat collided with a passenger ferry which subsequently capsized.

13 fatalities have been reported so far. Survivors rescued from the…

— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) December 18, 2024

Teams from the Indian Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Police were involved in the search and rescue operations. Currently, 11 Navy boats three Marine Police boats, and one Coast Guard vessel are actively searching the area to locate survivors.

Reacting to the accident, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “We have received reports of an accident involving the boat Nilkamal, which was heading towards Elephanta. Boats from the Navy, Coast Guard, Port and Police teams have been immediately dispatched for assistance. We are in constant touch with the district and police administration and fortunately most of the citizens have been rescued.”

एलिफंटाकडे जाणाऱ्या नीलकमल या बोटीचा अपघात घडल्याचे वृत्त प्राप्त झाले. नौदल, कोस्टगार्ड, पोर्ट, पोलिस पथकच्या बोटी तातडीने मदतीसाठी रवाना करण्यात आल्या आहेत. जिल्हा आणि पोलिस प्रशासनाशी सातत्याने आम्ही संपर्कात असून, सुदैवाने बहुसंख्य नागरिकांना वाचविण्यात आले आहे. तथापि अजूनही…

— Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) December 18, 2024

Fadnavis has announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the victims.

“I boarded the ferry around 3:30 PM. About 10 kilometers into the sea, a speeding boat rammed into our ferry. Water started flooding the boat, and the driver immediately asked us to wear life jackets. I managed to put mine on, but by then, the boat was already submerged. I swam for about 15 minutes before another boat came to our rescue," an eyewitness said according to News18.