No fewer than 22 people died when a tourist boat capsized in India, officials revealed with many of those on board thought to be children.
The double-decker boat, which was carrying at least 30 people, capsized late on Sunday in the Malappuram district in Kerala’s southern state.
The wrecked ship was partially submerged, and throughout the entire night, dozens of people searched for survivors within and around it.
While others were in the water searching desperately for any survivors, some used ropes to steady the boat.
‘We have recovered 22 bodies, including 15 females and seven males. There are around six people in the hospital. Rescue operations are on,’ a police officer told reporters.
Rajisa, who was on the boat with her husband and daughter, told the publication most of the passengers on board were children and that there was smoke coming from the boat during the journey.
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‘We survived only because we were wearing life jackets,’ Rajisa, who bruised her neck after hitting the boat, was quoted as saying.
She said three life jackets were brought to her and her family, and four jackets were given to children on the boat’s top deck.
‘The boat swerved sometime after it set sail. Everyone was thrown off to one side as the boat wobbled,’ she told Onmanorama.
‘I fell before my child and sank into the water. The boat overturned on top of the people who had fallen into the water. There were mostly children on the boat,’ she said.
Broadcaster NDTV said rescue teams, including personnel from National Disaster Response Force and the Indian Coast Guard, were using underwater cameras to look for those still missing.
VD Satheesan, a politician from the opposition Congress party in the state, said the accident was “man-made” and called for a probe.
‘Nobody even knows if the boat had a licence or not,’ he said Monday, speaking to reporters.
A case has been registered against the boat’s owner for alleged culpable homicide, media reports said.