60 hours on, 7-year-old Zohan still missing after ferry capsizes off Mumbai coast: Family clings on to hope, makes duas

Residents of Goa’s Mapusa, five members of the Pathan family, including Ashraf Pathan, his wife, Sakina, two sons — Zohan and a 10-month-old — and his sister-in-law Sonali Gaunder, had come to Mumbai for some work which they decided to turn into a mini-vacation.

It was only their second day in the city. After a stroll through Colaba where they bought T-shirts for the toddlers, the family was planning to spend the rest of their evening at Elephanta Caves when tragedy struck. Ashraf, his infant son and sister-in-law survived the crash. A search is still on to locate Zohan, a kindergarten student.

Ashraf, a fish vendor by trade, told The Indian Express: “After shopping at Colaba market, we boarded the boat from Gateway around 2.45 to 3 pm. We could see that the boat was overloaded. The boat had neither life jackets nor tyres on the sides. I was holding our ten-month-old baby and Sakina was holding Zohan. After the accident, we were unable to find life jackets.”

Friends sharing search updates

Sakina’s body was recovered later and taken to INHS Sandhani Hospital in Karanje. Post-mortem conducted later at the Indira Gandhi Rural Hospital in Uran confirmed that she had died of drowning. On Thursday, the family collected her remains from the hospital and departed for Goa where her last rites were performed.

Ashraf’s friends are in Mumbai, keeping him updated on the search for Zohan. However, until Friday afternoon, they received no word from police officials. “There is no news about him yet. Nobody from the government has reached out to us either in these difficult times,” Ashraf said on Friday afternoon.

Having already lost his wife, Ashraf is clinging on to the hope that his son will be located. “We are praying to God and making duas for his well-being,” he said.

Also lost: Rs 20,000, purse, items bought hours ago at Colaba market

Sonali, who was also on the boat, earlier said that the family was slated to return to Goa in the next two days. “While we survived, the loss of our sister has left us devasted. We have been told that a missing-person case has been filed at Colaba police station. Even though it was the Navy’s boat, the officials have given us no updates,” Sonali told The Indian Express on Thursday.

According to the family, they also lost around Rs 15,000-20,000 cash, Sakina’s purse, other valuables, and bags containing purchases made hours ago at the Colaba market.

The accident claimed 14 lives, including that of one Navy personnel. Thirteen of the bodies were recovered within hours, while the body of Hansaaram Bhati was retrieved on Thursday evening. Nearly 99 others, including passengers and crew members of the ferry, were rescued.