The Thekkady boat disaster took place on September 30, 2009, when the jalakanyaka decked passenger ship drowned in Lake Thekkady, Periyar National Park, Kerala, India. When the ship overturned, 45 tourists died, mostly from Delhi and Kolkata. A total of 82 people were on the boat. The boat captain, Victor Samuel, and other crew members were arrested on 5 October.
Video 2009 Thekkady boat disaster
Detail
Boat trips to the double-decker fiberglass Kanyaka nets , operated by Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC), take a daily sightseeing trip to the Mullaperiyar Reservoir in Idukki. The ship was first commissioned on August 17, 2009.
The boat departs from the landing at 4:30 am. and overturned 7 kilometers (4.3 miles), around 5 pm on September 30, 2009. It reversed in one of the deepest parts of the reservoir, in an area about 100 meters (330Ã, ft) deep.
Some survivors swam to safety.
Maps 2009 Thekkady boat disaster
Rescue
The surrounding area has wild animals, including elephants, and in 777 square kilometers (300Ã, sqÃ, mi) of Periyar Tiger Reserve.
At 8 pm, rescue teams found 26 bodies, and two survivors. The initial rescue operation was completed by local and public government officials before a state and federal government crew arrived. None of the early rescue boats had divers, but the divers team from the Indian Navy was assigned to assist the rescue operation 5-6 hours later. A team of 40-50 naval divers rushed to the scene of the Southern Naval Command in Kochi. On October 3, the search for dead bodies is still ongoing.
Four bodies were recorded missing until 3 October, when three were found by Navy divers: Aishwarya four years and half a year and his mother Senthilkumari, from Bangalore, and Apoorva, 16, from Hyderabad. A Navy helicopter saw Aishwarya's body first, and her mother was found nearby. The last missing passenger, 19-year-old Apropva's brother, Abhilash, was found on the night of October 3 by an underwater camera, but bad weather delayed his resignation until the following day. It bought the latest death toll to 45. Their parents, scientists at the Defense Research Organization, survived the crash.
Twenty people, mostly on the upper deck, were rescued by ships sent by the KTDC, the Ministry of Forestry, and the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department.
State and National Governments act, requesting defense agencies in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram to start rescue efforts. Navy divers from Kochi were forced to travel overland after their helicopter, sent to search for victims, was revived by bad weather.
Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, Minister of Home Affairs and Tourism of Kerala, and N. K. Premachandran, minister of Water Resources, arrived at Thekkady late at night, and they coordinated rescue operations according to press reports.
Investigation
Initially, KTDC claimed that there were 74 passengers, but police findings showed 87 passengers; some confusion in the number caused by some survivors leaving the scene without reporting to the police.
The death toll is predominantly female, especially from outside Kerala. The dead include people from Tamil Nadu, Delhi and West Bengal; more than 50 group members from Karnataka, who arrived by the tourist bus to Thekkady as part of a tour to Kerala.
Preliminary reports state that the accident occurred when a large number of passengers rushed to one side of the boat to see a herd of bulls emerging from the forest. The sudden movement caused the boat to overturn, and all the passengers were thrown into the water.
Later, this initial report was challenged when some rescued tourists reported structural problems with the ship, saying it was sloping along the way, for about 30 minutes. Then at one point the boat turned sharply, upside down and upside down.
The boat is owned and operated by Kerala Tourism Development Corporation. The government has been blamed for not privatizing these ships, for not enforcing safety precautions and for not having an efficient disaster recovery plan. The crew, the driver and the helper escaped the incident. The passengers were not given a life jacket before the trip, and no coast guard.
The Pioneer Delhi newspaper reported a "widespread complaint" against the Kerala Government and KTDC "trying to free itself from guilt by putting all the blame on the ship's employees." The Crime Branch inquiry report blamed the incident with a combination of driver negligence and overloading.
Aftermath
On October 2, it was announced that the government would pay the cost to send the dead bodies of the deceased to their home country and that the 5 lakh Rs. will be given to the immediate family of every person who died in the accident. The Kerala government has ordered a legal inquiry into the ship's tragedy.
Asked on the spot on Monday, October 5, the helmsman Victor Samuel (aka Betty) linked the incident to a sudden movement of tourists, but fellow Aneesh crew members (also Anisha) showed overloading the upper deck. Initial investigation revealed that the ship was overloaded, with 12 over its capacity of 75. The Crime Branch determined that when Samuel "suddenly changed the boat to the right, after the tourists saw the wild animals", it has contributed to the incident. Superintendent of Police (Crime Branch) PA Wilson said that "the unreasonable actions of driver Victor Samuel [...] wriggling the boat at high speed caused the tragedy". The Crime Branch did not make a final report, awaiting further questions from the victims, but Samuel and Aneesh were arrested, to be taken to the Magistrates Court in Peerumade. Sameul was accused of "causing death by accident."
Also in consideration is the possibility presented by the report that the vessel is listed on one side due to structural imbalances. The police claimed that Jalakanyaka, who was found and taken to the dock in Thekkady, "has an inherent problem". A careful forensic examination is scheduled to begin.
Criticism
Oommen Chandy, the leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, criticized the ongoing Crime Branch's investigation, alleging that efforts to make the supervisor a scapegoat. "An attempt to blame and be responsible for an accident on the driver," Chandy said.
Chandy told reporters that, rather than a judicial inquiry, the government should appoint an expert committee headed by a court official.
He urged Cherian Philip's Head to consider stopping his post. "Instead of overseeing the rescue operation at Thekkady, Philip chose to be part of the 'Human Chain', the CPI-M political function," he said.
The Decclan Herald said the accident was "a result of sheer negligence", and Buzz Express said it was "wrong from the start", with excess passengers in plastic seats unsecured.
Other criticisms include (1) lack of disaster planning and procedures for all departments; and (2) refusal to privatize and guarantee a tour ship with appropriate government oversight.
Next security issue
At a meeting on October 5, the Balakrishnan City Tourism Ministry announced several new security measures: security checks for tourist boats, compulsory jackets for those under 15 years old and for those over 15 who do not provide valid reasons, lifeguards and rescue boats proportionately to the number of passengers.
References
External links
Documentary on Thekkady Boat Tragedy Performed at Marine Biztv: -
- http://www.video.marinebiztv.com/videos.php?video=NDkzMA
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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