As per Business Today, the incident took place at around 7 PM last Sunday in the Tanur area of the district but the incident’s cause is still ignorant to people.
About 22 people drowned when a tourist boat carrying around 40 passengers capsized in Kerala’s Malappuram. About 22 lost their lives while the number of injured is 7, who are still in critical condition. The news from India Today reported this citing Kerala’s Sports Minister V Abdurahiman. It was further stated by him that most of the deceased people were children who had come for a fun ride during their school vacations. The local police have shared the exact date and time of this incident with the media and commented that those rescued have been admitted to private and government hospitals nearby.
It is said that more visitors are still likely to be trapped and rescue efforts are currently underway. The officials from revenue and fire departments, the fire services personnel and voluntary workers with locals are also being involved in rescue operations to seek more support in less time. The NDRF on the spot has said that the search continues underway for other victims.
PM Narendra Modi meanwhile, announced an ex-gratia of an amount of 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the families of the dead. In a tweet by the PM, he said how he is pained by the loss of lives due to the boat mishap in Malappuram in Kerala. He has shared his heartiest condolences for the bereaved families. An ex-gratia of 2 lahks from PMNRF would be provided to the next of kin of those families who faced such losses. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has directed the Malappuram District Administration to conduct a coordinated emergency rescue operation and has also tweeted how he is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of lives in this boat accident. Additionally, he has given the Direct Administration instructions to efficiently coordinate rescue efforts that are being managed by cabinet ministers. He too expressed his deepest sympathies to them.
Kerala’s V Abdurahiman, the minister of sports, and PA Mohamed Riyas, the minister of tourism, are working together to organize the rescue efforts. The current search and rescue efforts are anticipated to last for some time. The capsized boat is already being towed to shore. While the officials are not being able to find out the exact number of people on the boat they have reported around 35 people were present on the boat at the time of the incident. The boat had two decks, one upper where people stood to take the view of the surroundings and one lower with seats. The incident exactly took place at 7.30 PM. Mohammad Riyas is on the way to Thanoor from Kozhikode, sources added. Around 10 people were admitted to nearby hospitals, government and private, the police reported as per the news agency PTI.
President Droupadi Murmur added that she was deeply grieving this incident too and she prays for the lost lives of people and speedy recovery for those who are still struggling with life. She prays for the well-being of the survivors. VC Jagdeep Dhankar also wished and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
