Search continues for 7-year-old boy missing after Mumbai ferry crash

The Navy has launched an investigation into one of the deadliest accidents in the city’s port area.

Mumbai:

The search operation launched by navy boats for a seven-year-old boy missing after a navy craft rammed a ferry off the Mumbai coast two days ago continued on Friday , said an official.

With the discovery of the body of a 43-year-old man Thursday evening, the death toll from the tragedy of December 18 rose to 14.

The Navy has launched an investigation into one of the deadliest accidents in the city’s port area.

A naval helicopter and boats of the Navy and Coast Guard were deployed to search for the missing passengers as part of the search and rescue (SAR) operation, the official said.

Of the 113 people on board the two ships, 14 died and 98, including two injured, were rescued.

There were six people aboard the Navy craft, two of whom survived, the official said.

The tragedy occurred when the Navy craft, undergoing engine testing, lost control and collided with the passenger ferry ‘Neel Kamal’ off the Mumbai coast. The ferry with more than 100 passengers was en route from India Gate to Elephanta Island, a popular tourist attraction which has a collection of ancient caves.

According to documents released by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), the boat was authorized to carry 84 passengers and six crew members, but it was overloaded, a police official said.

A complaint was lodged against the driver of the Navy boat at the Colaba police station, the official said.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections invoked in the FIR related to the tragedy included those related to death by negligence, actions endangering personal safety or lives of others, reckless or negligent navigation of a vessel and acts of mischief causing unjustified losses. or harm to persons or the public.

The craft affected by the accident is in the custody of the Navy and the police will request it whenever necessary for the investigation, the official said.

The mangled passenger ferry was taken to Bhaucha Dhakka (a wharf near Dockyard Road) in south Mumbai, another official said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)