Kerala boat capsize toll 22, state govt orders judicial probe

Opposition leader V D Satheesan said the government should reveal who allowed the operation of the fishing boat after converting it into a passenger vessel.

Malappuram boat accident: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan arrives at Taluk Hospital, Tirurangadi in Malappuram district where survivors of the incident are admitted.

22 people lost their lives after a tourist boat capsized last night. pic.twitter.com/7NSZKPjmki

— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2023

Without referring to the allegations, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who visited Tanur and paid tributes to the dead at a madrasa, said the judicial commission would have an expert to examine the technical aspects regarding the boat.

“It has to be seriously looked into whether the precautionary measures, which had been mandated in the wake of previous boat tragedies, were ensured. The culprits would be brought to book,’’ he said. The Kerala Police will also constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident, he said.

The local police have registered a case against the boat owner, Nazer, an expatriate who recently returned to Tanur, under non-bailable sections of the Indian Penal Code. Nazer, who went into hiding soon after the incident, was nabbed by police Monday evening

The Chief Minister also visited the government hospital at Tirurangadi and held a review meeting with Cabinet colleagues, following which he announced an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of the dead. The state government also observed a day of mourning Monday.

Rescue team members search for survivors after a boat capsized off the coastal town of Tanur in the Malappuram district of Kerala, May 7, 2023. (Reuters)

According to official sources, there were 37 passengers in the boat when it capsized. While 22 people drowned, 10 were rescued and five swam to safety. Search operations were called off Monday evening.

The accident took place after 7 pm at Thoval Theeram Ottumpuram beach, a recently emerged destination for local tourists, near Tanur. All the passengers were local residents. Although no boating is allowed in tourist destinations in Kerala after dusk, ‘Atlantic’ continued the service on Poorapuzha river, which divides the coastal towns of Tanur and Parappanangadi.

It was one of the four boats plying on the river. The one-km journey through Poorapuzha river begins at the estuary of the river. At the estuary, there is no jetty for passengers to board boats. Instead, a few coconut planks are used for the purpose.

Local residents and survivors said the boat did not have enough life jackets or lifebuoys on board. The boat’s upper deck was open with handrails, but its lower deck was covered with glass windows, which trapped several passengers.

They said the passengers did not have proper seats and instead had a wooden blank fixed to the hull. The lower deck of the boat had two cabins, with a driver’s chamber in the middle.

People look at a tourist boat that capsized Sunday night in Malappuram, Kerala, May 8, 2023. (AP)

M Rajeev, a retired school headmaster, who took part in the rescue efforts, said he heard people screaming from the river Sunday evening. “Initially, we thought it was the usual merrymaking by boat passengers. But as the screaming gave way to wails for help, we rushed to the river shore. We found a boat capsized with a few passengers struggling to keep afloat. There were only a few on the upper deck of the boat,” said Rajeev, who lives on the Pariyapuram coast, where the boat was taken after it was recovered.

“There was no light as the boat had sunk. The entire region was engulfed in darkness. However, fishermen living on the other side of the river managed to reach the boat,” he said.

Local residents and official rescue teams reached the spot soon, Rajeev said. “But everyone was helpless as the passengers had got trapped in the boat, which had glass windows for its two chambers. They were all trapped. None of them could come out or swim to safety,” he said.

“Ambulances and fire tenders could not be brought to the shore due to the narrow road,” he said.

Kassim, a fisherman who took part in the rescue, said the boat got lodged in the marshy riverbed. “We had to break open the windows using our fists to rescue those trapped inside. Some of us got injured,’’ he said.

Sareeja Anilkumar, a homemaker who lives a few metres from the spot, said they saw the boat sailing dangerously, leaning to one side. It looked overcrowded, with several people standing, she said.

“It was heart-rending to see mothers wailing in the sinking boat. They were screaming in search of their missing children, saying ‘ente kutti’ (my kid). Initially, I thought it was the usual celebration of tourists. But soon we realised..,” said Sareeja.

Gafoor, a fisherman who lives near the river’s estuary, said many of them had warned the ‘Atlantic’ boat operators against the service. “It is a fishing boat, which was turned into a passenger service without any safety measures. It has a V-shaped bottom like other fishing vessels. It would definitely lean to one side depending upon the weight on both sides,” he said.

Gafoor said his wife and daughters had travelled by the same boat on Sunday. “After the journey, they told me how dangerous the trip was. They said the boat leaned to one side. They were not given life jackets,” he said.

Tanur municipal chairperson P P Shamsudheen said the boat started service on April 15 this year. “We had no role in its management as it was an initiative of the tourism department. But the operator should have taken an NOC from the local body,’’ he said.