2009 Thekkady boat disaster

Last updated

Thekkady boat tragedy
Date30 September 2009 (2009-09-30)
LocationLake Thekkady, Periyar National Park, Kerala, India
Typeboat sinking
OutcomeSinking of the Jalakanyaka
Deaths45
Passengers & Crew82

The Thekkady boat disaster occurred on 30 September 2009, when the double-decker passenger boat Jalakanyaka sank in Lake Thekkady, Periyar National Park, Kerala, India. When the boat capsized, 45 tourists died, [1] most of them from Delhi and Kolkata. [2] A total of 82 people were on the boat. [3] The boat's helmsman, Victor Samuel, and another crew member were arrested on 5 October. [4] It is the deadliest maritime accident reported in Kerala. [5]

Contents

Details

The fibreglass [6] double-decker sight-seeing boat Jala Kanyaka, operated by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC), made daily sight-seeing trips in the Mullaperiyar reservoir in Idukki. [3] The boat was first commissioned on 17 August 2009. [6]

The boat set off from a landing at 4:30 p.m. and capsized 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) away, at approximately 5 p.m. on 30 September 2009. It capsized in one of the deepest parts of the reservoir, in an area around 100 feet (30 m) deep. Most of the victims were women. [3]

Several survivors swam to safety. [7] [8]

Rescue

The surrounding area has wild animals, including elephants, and is within the 777 square kilometres (300 sq mi) Periyar Tiger Reserve. [3]

By 8 p.m, a rescue team recovered 26 bodies, and two survivors. [3] Initial rescue operations were completed by local government officials and the public before the state and federal government crews arrived. Also the crew of Malayalam movie Bodyguard was shooting nearby. Their lights and crew members aided the authorities in rescue operations. None of the initial rescue boats had divers, however a team of divers from the Indian Navy was assigned to help the rescue operation 5–6 hours later. A team of 40-50 navy divers were rushed to the spot from the Southern Naval Command at Kochi. On 3 October, the search for bodies was still ongoing.

Four bodies were noted as missing until 3 October, when three were recovered by Navy divers: four-and-a-half-year-old Aishwarya and her mother Senthilkumari, from Bangalore, and Apoorva, 16, from Hyderabad. [9] A Navy helicopter spotted the body of Aishwarya first, and her mother was found nearby. The final missing passenger, Apoorva's 19-year-old brother Abhilash, was discovered on the evening of 3 October by an underwater camera, but bad weather delayed its retrieval until the following day. [10] This bought the final death-toll to 45. [10] Their parents, scientists at the Defence Research Organisation, survived the accident. [4] There were 20 people rescued in total. [3]

Both State and National government acted, asking defence establishments in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram to launch rescue attempts. Navy divers from Kochi were forced to travel overland after their helicopter, sent to locate the victims, was turned back by bad weather. [3]

Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the Home and Tourism Minister of Kerala, and N. K. Premachandran, the minister for Water Resources, arrived in Thekkady late at night, [3] and they coordinated rescue operations according to press reports.

Investigations

Originally, KTDC claimed that there were 74 passengers, but police findings showed 87 passengers; some confusion in the numbers was caused by some survivors leaving the scene without reporting to the police. [6]

The fatalities consist mostly of women, mainly from outside Kerala. [3] The dead included people from Tamil Nadu, Delhi and West Bengal; more than 50 belonged to a group from Karnataka, who had come in a tourist bus to Thekkady as part of a tour to Kerala. [3]

Preliminary reports stated that the accident occurred when a large number of passengers rushed to one side of the boat to see a herd of bison which emerged from the forest. [3] [8] The sudden movement caused the boat to capsize, and all of the passengers were thrown into the water. [3]

Later, this initial report was challenged when some of the rescued tourists reported structural problems with the boat, saying that it was tilted throughout the trip, for about 30 minutes. Then at one point the boat took a sharp turn, overturned and capsized.

The boat was owned and operated by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation. [11] The government has been blamed for not privatizing these boats, for not enforcing safety precautions and for not having efficient disaster recovery plans.[ citation needed ] The crew of the boat, driver and helper escaped the incident. The passengers were not provided a life jacket before the trip, and there were no lifeguards. [7] [11]

The Pioneer newspaper of Delhi reported "widespread complaints" against both Kerala Government and KTDC "trying to absolve themselves of the guilt by putting the entire blame on the boat employees." [6] The Crime Branch's probe report blamed the incident on a combination of driver negligence and overloading. [6]

Aftermath

On 2 October, it was announced that the government would pay the expenses for sending the bodies of the deceased to their home states and that 5 lakhs Rs. would be provided to the next kin of each of the dead in the accident. [11] The Government of Kerala ordered a judicial inquiry into the boat tragedy.

Questioned at the scene on Monday, 5 October, helmsman Victor Samuel (alias Betty) attributed the incident to the sudden movement of tourists, but fellow crew member Aneesh (also written Anish) pointed out the overloading of the upper deck. [4] [6] [12] Preliminary inquiries revealed that the boat was overloaded, with 12 more than its capacity of 75. [6] The Crime Branch determined that when Samuel "suddenly turned the boat to the right, after the tourists sighted the wild animals", it had contributed to the incident. [12] Superintendent of Police (Crime Branch) PA Wilson said that "the unwarranted act of driver Victor Samuel [...] swerving the boat while at high speed caused the tragedy". [6] The Crime Branch did not make a final report, pending further questioning of survivors, but Samuel and Aneesh were arrested, to be taken before the Magistrate Court at Peerumade. [12] Samuel has been charged with "causing death unintentionally." [12]

Also under consideration was the possibility raised by reports that the boat listed to one side due to a structural imbalance. [6] The police stated that the Jalakanyaka, which was recovered and brought to the dock in Thekkady, [12] "had inherent problems". [13] A careful forensic examination was scheduled to begin. [6]

Criticism

Oommen Chandy, Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, criticized the ongoing Crime Branch probe, alleging an attempt to make the steersman a scapegoat. [14] "an attempt is on to put the blame and responsibility of the accident on the steersman," [14] Chandy said.

He urged Chairman Cherian Philip to consider quitting his post. [14] "Instead of supervising the rescue operations at Thekkady, Philip chose to be part of' Human Chain', [14] a political function of CPI-M," he said. [14]

The Decclan Herald said that the accident was "a result of sheer negligence", [15] and the Express Buzz said it was "faulty from the start", [16] with excess passengers on unsecured plastic chairs. [16]

Other criticisms include (1) lack of disaster recovery planning and procedures for all departments; and (2) refusal to privatize and insure tourist boats with proper government oversight.

Subsequent safety concerns

At a meeting on 5 October, state Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan announced several new safety measures: safety checks for tourist boats, mandatory life jackets for those under 15 and for those over 15 who do not supply a valid reason, lifeguards and rescue boats in proportion to the number of passengers. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Ethan Allen</i> boating accident 2005 boating incident

The Ethan Allen was a 40-foot, glass-enclosed tour boat operated by Shoreline Cruises on Lake George in upstate New York. On October 2, 2005, at 2:55 p.m. local time, with 47 passengers—mostly seniors—aboard, the Ethan Allen capsized and sank just south of Cramer Point in the Town of Lake George. Twenty passengers died, causing government regulators to consider new laws on passenger boat capacity.

MV <i>Princess of the Stars</i> Philippine passenger ferry, sank disastrously

MV Princess of the Stars was a passenger ferry owned by Filipino shipping company Sulpicio Lines, that capsized and sank on June 21, 2008, off the coast of San Fernando, Romblon at the height of Typhoon Fengshen, which was locally named by PAGASA as Frank. The storm passed directly over Romblon as a Category 2 typhoon, leading to the capsizing of the vessel; 814 people died as a result of the disaster.

MV <i>Demas Victory</i>

MVDemas Victory was a Dubai-based supply ship which sailed to offshore oil and gas platforms. It capsized 10 nautical miles off the coast of the Qatari capital city of Doha on Tuesday 30 June 2009 at 6:30 a.m. local time. The disaster resulted in over 30 missing of the 35 reported to be on board. Only five were rescued, and six bodies recovered. It was feared that many of the passengers were sleeping in their cabins, and those on deck were rescued.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Sierra Leone ferry accident</span> Maritime disaster in Sierra Leone

The 2009 Sierra Leone ferry accident occurred on 8 September 2009 off the coast of Sierra Leone, when a wooden Teh Teh ferry travelling from Shenge village to Tombo sank during a storm. At least 90 people to date have been confirmed dead, and over 100 others have been listed as "missing". So far, only 39 survivors have been rescued. Several of the passengers were children who had been on holiday, though the official passenger manifest did not include them. An attempted rescue operation ended on 11 September. The sinking is the worst such accident in Sierra Leone since 2002, when a boatful of refugees capsized. The Xinhua News Agency in China has likened the disaster to other major marine accidents in recent years.

<i>Bulgaria</i> (ship) Russian cruise ship

Bulgaria was a class 785/OL800 Russian river cruise ship which operated in the Volga-Don basin. On 10 July 2011, Bulgaria sank in the Kuybyshev Reservoir of the Volga River near Syukeyevo, Kamsko-Ustyinsky District, Tatarstan, Russia, with 201 passengers and crew aboard when sailing from the town of Bolgar to the regional capital, Kazan. The catastrophe led to 122 confirmed deaths.

On 30 April 2012, a ferry carrying about 350 passengers capsized in the Brahmaputra River in the Dhubri district of Assam in Northeast India. The disaster killed at least 108 people.

2014 Andaman boat disaster was an incident which occurred on 26 January 2014, when a tourist boat capsized near Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, killing 22 people. The boat "Aqua Marine" was carrying 45 tourists from Tamil Nadu and Mumbai.

The 2014 Hirakud boat disaster was an accident that occurred on 9 February 2014 in the reservoir of the Hirakud Dam in the Indian state of Odisha. The incident occurred when a boat carrying about 115 passengers on board capsized in the reservoir. The disaster killed 31 people.

Sinking of MV <i>Sewol</i> 2014 ferry sinking disaster in South Korea

On the morning of April 16, 2014, the ferry MV Sewol sank whilst en route from Incheon towards Jeju in South Korea. The 6,825-ton vessel sent a distress signal from about 2.7 kilometres north of Byeongpungdo at 08:58 KST. Out of 476 passengers and crew, 304 died in the disaster, including around 250 students from Danwon High School in Ansan City. Of the 172 survivors, more than half were rescued by fishing boats and other commercial vessels that arrived at the scene approximately 40 minutes before the Korea Coast Guard (KCG).

<i>Matchless</i> (pleasure yacht) Boat sunk in 1894 in Morecambe Bay, England

The Matchless was a British sailing boat which sank in Morecambe Bay, off north west England, in 1894 with the loss of 25 lives.

MV Dongfang zhi Xing was a river cruise ship that operated in the Three Gorges region of inland China. On the night of 1 June 2015, the ship was traveling on the Yangtze River when it capsized during a thunderstorm in Jianli, Hubei Province with 454 people on board. On 13 June, 442 deaths were confirmed, with 12 survivors. The passengers were mostly in their 60s and 70s, and mostly from Nanjing, where the ship started its cruise.

The Mengalum Island boat accident is occurred on 28 January 2017, when a catamaran passenger ferry sank in the South China Sea off Mengalum Island in Sabah, Malaysia. The boat was carrying 27 Chinese tourists, of whom 22 were rescued, four confirmed dead, and five still missing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Table Rock Lake duck boat accident</span> Duck boat accident

On the evening of July 19, 2018, a duck boat operated by Ride the Ducks sank on Table Rock Lake in the Ozarks near Branson, Missouri, in the United States. The amphibious vehicle sank with 31 people on board, leaving 17 dead, during high winds associated with nearby severe thunderstorms as part of a significant derecho and tornado outbreak.

Sinking of MV <i>Nyerere</i>

MV Nyerere is a Tanzanian ferry that capsized on 20 September 2018 while travelling between the islands of Ukerewe and Ukara on Lake Victoria. The Tanzanian government have declared that 228 people died as a result of the capsizing while 41 could be rescued. The capsized ferry was successfully righted, retrieved and unloaded more than one week after the disaster.

Sinking of MV <i>Acita 03</i> The sinking of MV Acita 03 in Sulawesi

The sinking of MV Acita 03 occurred on the night of 18 October 2007 when a ferry carrying 174 passengers and crews accidentally capsized during its docking in Baubau, Southeast Sulawesi. 134 passengers and crews survived the disaster while 30 passengers and 1 crew member lost their lives. 9 people were listed as missing and presumed dead.

<i>Hableány</i> disaster 2019 maritime incident in Hungary

Hableány was a 27-metre (89 ft) river cruiser operated on the Danube river in Budapest, Hungary. On the rainy night of May 29, 2019, at 9:05 pm the 135-metre (443 ft) Viking Sigyn collided with Hableány from behind under the Margaret Bridge near the Parliament Building. Hableány sank in 7 seconds. The heavy rainfall and the resulting strong currents hampered rescue efforts, with some bodies found 100 km downstream. With 2 Hungarian crew and 33 South Korean tourists on board, 7 tourists were rescued at the scene; one person is still missing and all others were later found to be dead.

Sinking of MV <i>Conception</i> 2019 maritime disaster

The sinking of MV Conception occurred on September 2, 2019, when the 75-foot (23 m) dive boat caught fire and eventually sank off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, California, United States. The boat was anchored overnight at Platts Harbor, a small undeveloped bay on the island's north shore, with 33 passengers and 1 crew member asleep below decks when a fire broke out shortly after 3 a.m. Five crew members, whose sleeping quarters were on the top deck, survived while everyone else on board died. The crew members were forced by the fire to jump overboard but not before placing an initial mayday call to the Coast Guard and attempting to alert the passengers. The crew retrieved the Conception's skiff and motored to a nearby boat where a second radio dispatch was made. The rescue and recovery operations were coordinated by the United States Coast Guard.

The 1948 Gozo luzzu disaster occurred on 30 October 1948 when a luzzu fishing boat carrying passengers from Marfa, Malta to Mġarr, Gozo capsized and sank in rough seas off Qala, killing 23 of the 27 people on board. Inquiries held after the accident determined that the boat had been overloaded as it was carrying around double its capacity.

Sinking of the MS <i>Estonia</i> 1994 maritime disaster on Baltic Sea

MS Estonia sank on Wednesday, 28 September 1994, between about 00:50 and 01:50 (UTC+2) as the ship was crossing the Baltic Sea, en route from Tallinn, Estonia, to Stockholm, Sweden. The sinking was one of the worst maritime disasters of the 20th century. It is one of the deadliest peacetime sinkings of a European ship, after the Titanic in 1912 and the Empress of Ireland in 1914, and the deadliest peacetime shipwreck to have occurred in European waters, with 852 lives lost.

The Tanur boat accident occurred on 7 May 2023 evening, when the recreational boat Atlantic capsized in Tanur Beach in Tanur, Malappuram, Kerala, India. The incident, on a boat carrying 37 people, caused 22 deaths and 10 injuries, including 11 children.

References

  1. ↑ "Thekkady boat mishap: toll reaches 45". Press Trust of India. 5 October 2009. Archived from the original on 10 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  2. ↑ "Three more bodies recovered from Thekkady lake, toll 44". Sify . 3 October 2009. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "32 drown as boat topples in Thekkady". The Hindu . 1 October 2009. p. Front Page. Archived from the original on 4 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 "Boat capsize; steerman, crew member arrested". Press Trust of India. 5 October 2009. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  5. ↑ "കൊച്ചി നടുങ്ങി; ഇത് അഞ്ചാമത്തെ ജലദുരന്തം | Kerala | Deshabhimani | Thursday Aug 27, 2015". www.deshabhimani.com. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 VR Jayaraj (5 October 2009). "Thekkady tragedy '12 passengers over capacity on boat'". The Pioneer. Archived from the original on 8 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  7. 1 2 "No safety measures in ill fated boat, eyewitnesses". Press Trust of India. 6 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.[ dead link ]
  8. 1 2 "34 drown as boat capsizes in Kerala". The Times Of India. 1 October 2009. Archived from the original on 4 October 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
  9. ↑ "Bodies of Aishwarya,mother found". Deccan Herald. 3 October 2009. Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  10. 1 2 "Thekkady tragedy: toll mounts to 45". The Hindu. 4 October 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  11. 1 2 3 "10 Delhiites among 41 dead in avoidable boat tragedy". Times of India. 2 October 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Thekkady boat capsize; steerman, crew member arrested". The Hindu. 5 October 2009. Archived from the original on 8 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  13. 1 2 "All tourist boats to undergo safety check in Kerala". 5 October 2009. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 "Opposition leader flays probe into boat tragedy". Indopia/PTI. 5 October 2009. Archived from the original on 11 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  15. ↑ "Safety last". Deccan Herald. 6 October 2009. Archived from the original on 11 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  16. 1 2 "Jalakanyaka was faulty from the start". Express Buzz. 5 October 2009. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2009.

Documentary about Thekkady Boat Tragedy Done in Marine Biztv :-

9°34′32.7″N77°10′45.3″E / 9.575750°N 77.179250°E / 9.575750; 77.179250

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.