Boat carrying 22 workers capsizes, 2 missing

The accident occurred at around 7.30am when workers were travelling back to the shore after the night shift

PALGHAR: A boat carrying 22 workers engaged in constructing a bridge over the Vaitarna river in Palghar tehsil capsized on Monday morning. Twenty workers managed to swim to the shore whereas two others are missing. Residents of the area said only a few workers were wearing safety jackets.

Boat carrying 22 workers capsizes, 2 missing

The accident occurred at around 7.30am when workers were travelling back to the shore after the night shift. The bridge, coming up on the Mumbai Vadodara Expressway near Wadhiv island, is being constructed by GR Infrastructure Ltd.

Three workers were treated at the Saphale primary health centre and discharged. Police officials, who recorded statements of workers, said the boat capsized due weight imbalance, but locals said the boat might have hit a rock as the terrain where the incident occurred is rocky. The water level in Vaitarna River was low due to the lunar cycle, which might have caused the boat’s bottom to hit a rock, said a resident of Wadhiv who did not wish to be named.

The missing workmen were identified as Adarsh Shukla and Nirmal Mishra. Efforts are on to trace them, and the Coast Guard and villagers along the coast have been alerted, said officials from the Kelva police station.