Twenty-two people drowned when a tourist boat capsized in the Poorapuzha estuary in Malappuram district of Kerala on Sunday. The death toll is likely to go up as several passengers are missing. Many of the victims were women and children. Most of them were from families from neighbouring places. The tragedy took place at Ottumpuram Thoovaltheeram, between Tanur and Parappanangadi, around 7 p.m.
Eyewitnesses said there were nearly 50 people on the boat, which had a capacity of 25. The overcrowding made the boat list before it capsized, they said. Many passengers were caught under the boat, and the darkness hampered the rescue.
Many of the rescued passengers are in a critical condition. They were rushed to hospitals at Tanur, Tirur, Parappanangadi, Tirurangadi, Kottakkal, Manjeri and Kozhikode. The boat named Shinkara, owned by Nazar Pattarakath from Tanur, had violated the rules.
It conducted a service late in the evening because of the heavy rush of tourists at Ottupuram beach near Tanur. Kerala Health Minister Veena George issued an emergency directive to medical colleges and government hospitals in Malappuram to deploy additional staff. Government doctors have been deployed in private hospitals to attend to the emergency.
The State government cancelled all its official programmes scheduled for Monday in view of the tragedy. It also postponed the taluk level adalats being held across the State, said Chief Secretary V.P. Joy. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will visit Tanur on Monday.
Minister for Tourism P.A. Mohammed Riyas and Minister for Sports V. Abdurahiman were coordinating the rescue work. District Disaster Management Authority chairman and District Collector V.R. Premkumar coordinated the revenue, police, health, and Fire and Rescue Departments.
Fire and Rescue Services units from Tanur and Tirur joined the rescue and search operation by the local people.
Mr. Abdurahiman said the death toll was likely to increase. There were nine bodies at one hospital alone, and three of them were women and five children.
The State government cancelled all its official programmes scheduled for Monday in view of the tragedy. It also postponed the taluk-level adalats being held across the State, said Chief Secretary V.P. Joy. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will visit Tanur on Monday. Minister for Tourism P.A. Mohammed Riyas and Minister for Sports V. Abdurahiman were coordinating the rescue work. District Disaster Management Authority chairman and District Collector V.R. Premkumar coordinated the revenue, police, health, and Fire and Rescue Departments. Fire and Rescue Services units from Tanur and Tirur joined the rescue and search operation by the local people. Mr. Abdurahiman said the death toll was likely to increase. There were nine bodies at one hospital alone, and three of them were women and five children.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief at the loss of lives in the tragedy. The Union government announced a financial aid of ₹2 lakh to the kin of victims.
