Mumbai ferry tragedy: 6 females, 2 minor tourists and naval personnel among 13 fatalities

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Mumbai, Dec 19 (IANS) Six female tourists and 2 minors from different parts of India were among the 13 victims who lost their lives in Wednesday’s maritime disaster when an Indian Navy speedboat crashed at high speed into a passenger ferry off Gateway of India, officials said here on Thursday.

They are — the two minors Nidhish Rakesh Ahire, 8-year-old boy (Nashik), Mahi Sairam Pavra, 3-year-old girl (Dhule); besides the five women — Harshada Rakesh Ahire, 31 (Nashik), Shafina Ashraf Pathan, 34 (Goa), Rama Ratidevi Gupta, 50 (Palghar), Pragnya Vinod Kamble, 39 (Navi Mumbai).

The other males who drowned in the catastrophe include T. Deepak, around 40, and Mahendrasingh Vijaysingh Shekhawat, 31, both with Indian Navy (Mumbai and Raigad), Rakesh Nanaji Ahire, 34 (Nashik), Pravin Ramnath Sharma, 34, (Andhra Pradesh), Mangesh Mahadev Kelkar, 33 (Thane), Mohammed Rehman Qureshi, 35 (Bihar) and Deepika Neelkanth Wakchaure, 50 (Mumbai).

A full-fledged search has been resumed this morning to trace out at least two others who are still ‘missing’, said the BMC Disaster Control on Thursday.

In one of the worst-ever maritime disasters around Mumbai, while 13 people were killed, another 113 were rescued when the chockful ferry ‘Neelkamal’ was going from Gateway of India to Elephanta Isles, the famed UNESCO World Heritage site.

An official said that the Indian Navy, Marine Police and other agencies have deployed their vessels to search the two persons who were thrown into the waters after the deadly collision in mid-sea, around 5 km from the Gateway of India, in the water channel near the tiny Butcher Island oil terminal.

Of the 113 who were rescued and still in different hospitals in Mumbai and Raigad, the condition of 100 is now stable while 2 others are still untraced in the Arabian Sea.

President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis plus several Opposition leaders across party lines condoled the gruesome tragedy and the loss of innocent lives.

The PM announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh and the CM announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh, respectively, to the kin of each deceased, plus financial-cum-medical assistance to all the injured victims.

–IANS

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BJP urges TN govt to stop Kerala from garbage dumping in border districts

Chennai, Dec 17 (IANS) Tamil Nadu BJP President, K. Annamalai has urged the Stalin government to take immediate measures to stop garbage dumping in Tamil Nadu’s border districts by neighbouring Kerala.

In a post on social media platform X, Annamalai said, “Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who is ceding Tamil Nadu’s rights, including Cauvery water, to states ruled by his coalition parties, has allowed the border districts of Kanyakumari, Tenkasi, and Tirunelveli to be turned into a garbage dump by the Communist government of Kerala.”

He further alleged, “While the DMK government is in alliance with the Communist government of Kerala, our southern districts have been turned into dumping grounds for the biomedical, plastic, and meat waste from Kerala.”

Annamalai claimed that border check posts, meant to stop this illegal waste transportation, have instead become mere collection centres.

He accused the DMK government of turning a blind eye to the illegal smuggling of minerals from Tenkasi and Kanyakumari districts into Kerala, while simultaneously permitting Tamil Nadu to be used as a dumping site.

The BJP alleged that despite repeated complaints to authorities and the Chief Minister’s Special Cell, no action has been taken.

He alleged that the dumping continues with the full knowledge of the DMK government.

Annamalai issued a warning that if similar incidents persist, the BJP will mobilise public support in the first week of January 2025, load the biomedical waste and garbage into trucks, and dump it back in Kerala.

“I myself will travel in the first truck,” he added.

Large volumes of biomedical, food, and plastic waste, allegedly from Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) and a Private Hospital, have been found dumped across multiple villages, including Kodaganallur and Palavoor.

The waste includes hazardous biomedical materials such as used syringes, PPE kits, and other discarded items dumped on patta lands and in waterbodies, raising significant health and environmental concerns.

In addition, medical records containing sensitive personal information of cancer patients treated at RCC were allegedly discovered among the waste and included patient names, addresses, treatment details, diagnoses, and dietary plans.

Some documents appeared to be recent, with dates as recent as November 2024. This not only highlights improper waste disposal practices but also raises alarms about a serious data breach.

—IANS

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6 die in sleep, 4 taken ill due to suffocation after fire breaks out in house in J&K’s Kathua (Ld)

Jammu, Dec 18 (IANS) Six people died in their sleep and four suffered from minor suffocation after a fire broke out in a house in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K) Kathua district, officials said on Wednesday.

Officials said that six people including two children were killed and four suffered from suffocation after the blaze broke out in their house in Shiva Nagar area of Kathua overnight.

“Initial reports suggest that the fire started from a room due to a lamp and quickly spread to other rooms.

“Six people were taken to hospital, but doctors said they were dead on arrival. They have been identified as 81-year-old Avtar Krishan, 17-year-old Ganga Bhagat, 15-year-old Danish Bhagat, 25-year-old Barkha Raina, 3-year-old Takash Raina and 4-year-old Advik Raina.

“The injured have been identified as 61-year-old Swarna, 40-year-old Neetu Devi, 69-year-old Kewal Krishan and 45-year-old Arun Kumar. They are being treated at the government medical college hospital in Kathua town”, officials said.

Surinder Atri, principal of Kathua Medical College said that the victims belonged to the family of a hospital assistant matron, who had recently retired from service.

“She was living in a rented accommodation. The incident took place around 2 A.M. and prima facie evidence suggests it was due to a fire caused by a Pooja lamp. There are no burn marks on the dead persons so they could have died of suffocation. The other four injured persons are stable”, the principal said.

Incidents of deaths due to suffocation have been reported during the winter months because of the use of LPG heaters and other heating appliances that deplete the oxygen content in a closed environment.

The deaths due to the fire triggered by a lamp that spread quickly giving the victims no time to escape, is a freak incident.

People are being continuously cautioned against the use of LPG heaters and other similar appliances that generate carbon monoxide by depleting the oxygen content in a closed environment.

–IANS

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