A first information report (FIR) has been filed against the driver of a Navy speed boat, which lost control and crashed into a passenger ferry off Mumbai's Gateway of India. The police has filed an FIR against the Navy speed boat driver based on the complaint of the survivor Natharam Chaudhary, a 22-year-old resident of Mumbai's Sakinaka area.
The accident took place around 3:55 pm on Wednesday when a passenger vessel named Neelkamal capsized in the sea after colliding with a Navy boat, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.
He added that the rescue operation is still undergoing. The accident left at least 13 including 2 kids dead. An Indian Navy official and two employees of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) were also among those killed.
So far, 115 people have been rescued, as per officials. Two passengers are still missing after the collision off-Mumbai coast on Wednesday, as per Mumbai Police.
Survivors recounted the moments before the tragedy and the negligence that led to the loss of so many lives. A survivor, who lost his aunt in the accident while travelling with her and his cousin to Elephanta Island, recounted that no one on the boat had life jackets.
“No one on the boat had life jackets. After the collision, we pulled several people out of the water and onto the boat. About 20 to 25 minutes later, the Navy rescued us, but by then, we had lost my aunt,” Gautam Gupta, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, said.
One of the survivors said that the Navy's speed boat was performing stunts, which triggered their doubts.
“The Navy’s speedboat was performing stunts. This raised our suspicions, so I started recording. Moments later, the boat collided with our ferry,” survivor Shravan Kumar, who captured the video of the incident said.
Arif Bamane, a driver of the Mumbai Port Trust (MBPT) pilot boat Poorva told news agency PTI that when they reached there, the situation was tragic and chaotic. He added that people were screaming and crying for help.
He said that they prioritised rescuing women and children. Bamane further recalled a small girl lying motionless as water had entered her lungs. He added the driver and other rescuers performed chest compressions and helped her breathe again, following which her breathing slowly become normal.
As per an Indian Navy statement, the speed boat was a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) undergoing engine trials and lost control due to engine malfunction.
The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections invoked in the FIR include those related to causing death by negligence, actions that endanger the personal safety or life of others, rash or negligent navigation of a vessel and acts of mischief that cause wrongful loss or damage to individuals or the public.