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Mumbai boat tragedy: Uran hospital overflows with grief
MUMBAI: A naval speedboat collided with the Neel Kamal ferry, drowning 14 passengers, leaving survivors and families in shock and grief.
MUMBAI: When rescue operations were called off on Wednesday evening, after naval speedboat dashed against a passenger ferry, Neel Kamal, near Butcher Island in the afternoon, leading 14 individuals to meet their watery graves, survivors and family members were left with a mix of emotions at such a turn of fate – grief, anger, disbelief.
Most of the passengers who had set sail for a trip to Elephanta Island from the Gateway of India, belonged to the working class, who were either visiting the city from nearby districts or far-flung states, for work or simply to experience a bit of Mumbai. Those on the passenger ferry included co-workers who had some time on hand after completing their businesses to unwind or extended family members looking to bond with each other, there were also young parents who wanted to experience the sea with their children.
Many suffered losses.
Late in the night, HT visited Indira Gandhi Hospital, in Uran, where post-mortems were being conducted – cops from Mora and Uran police stations, and doctors in the forensic department, were busy at work, as the dead were being wheeled in.
By 2 am relatives of the deceased had gathered at the hospital after getting news of their losses – one had lost an infant, a senior citizen’s entire family was wiped away, a sister ready to be wed in a week lost her brother, a young woman lost her elderly mother. Grief was the one emotion binding all.
Some expressed themselves in bouts of tears, others simply sat still in a state of shock. A few managed to muster up the courage to share their pain.
‘I am hoping my son is alive’
Ashraf Pathan, 42, a cloth merchant from Mapusa, Goa, was in Mumbai on Wednesday on business. As his family had not been to Mumbai before, Ashraf had decided to turn this into a work-and-pleasure trip, and brought along his wife, Safeena, 35, their 10-month-old child Aazaan, seven-year-old son Zohan and his sister-in-law, Sonali Gavandar.
After a spot of sightseeing and a visit to Haji Ali Dargah, the family decided to sail to Elephanta Island from the Gateway of India in a passenger ferry.
“Our peaceful boat ride was interrupted when a speedboat from the Navy crashed into our ferry. We were on the upper deck enjoying the sights and in no time felt the boat sinking. Everyone rushed to get hold of lifejackets in the overcrowded lower deck,” said Ashraf. In the melee, Safeena and Zohan became stuck in the lower deck among the crowd while Ashraf, Aazan and Sonali scampered up, without any protective gear.
“My wife and older son drowned with the others, while I along with my younger son and sister-in-law managed to hold on to a plastic barrel in the water which saved us from drowning. Others also held on to the barrel and we managed to create a human chain mid-sea,” said Ashraf.
“We had no option but to patiently wait for help. All the while, I was constantly looking for my wife and son but did not find them anywhere.”
After half an hour the three saw several private boats approaching the capsized vessel. By now, water had started percolating into the plastic drum and it had begun to sink. “Had help arrived even five minutes late, I would not have been here to tell you the story,” said a grief-stricken Ashraf. The three were taken to JNPA Hospital, in Uran, for physical checks, and released soon. His wife’s body was sent to Indira Gandhi Hospital, Mora, along with the other dead. There has been no news yet about his son.
Ashraf hopes Zohan is missing but alive. “I am waiting for a message from authorities saying he is admitted in a hospital and safe,” he said.
The family was supposed to return to Goa on Wednesday night but he will now “return without two members of my family”.
‘He lost all 3 members of his family’
Residents of Pimpalgaon Baswant, 30 kilometers from Nashik district, Rakesh Nanaji Ahire, 38, his wife Harshada, 35, and their son Nidhish, 7, along with his father-in-law Kailash Govind were in the city to seek medical follow-up advise for a surgery in the nose Rakesh had undergone nine years ago. As the consultation with the doctor in Andheri West ended early on Wednesday, the family decided to visit Elephanta Island.
The elderly Kailash stayed back, while the other three set sail on Neel Kamal. They drowned when the boat capsized after a naval speedboat rammed into it.
“Govind remained on the shore and watched the others sail into the sea from the Gateway,” said Akshay Sonawane, a relative, “as he is afraid of the water.”
On hearing the news of the deaths and identifying the bodies at Indira Gandhi Hospital, Uran, he slipped into a state of shock and became speechless. Doctors who examined him said his blood pressure had shot up.
Akshay Sonawane, Rakesh’s cousin, said, “Govind, used to live in Mumbai and only recently shifted to Nashik after retirement. His son-in-law Rakesh, a building contractor, who had undergone surgery on his nose in 2015 would come to Mumbai for routine check-ups.”
When they visited the city, Rakesh and his family lived in Govind’s flat in Kalyan. “Govind called us soon after getting the news,” said Akshay, adding that “police took him to Mora port, on the other side of the harbour, along with other survivors from Neel Kamal”.
“He is still trying to come to terms with the fact that he lost his only daughter, son-in-law and grandson, with a single tragic turn of fate,” said Akshay.
‘He had sent selfies to his sister’
Like many others in the ill-fated ferry, Neel Kamal, Mohammad Rehan Qureshi and his employer Abhijeet Singh, were visiting Mumbai for the first time. The garment traders from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, were here on business. On Wednesday, after wrapping up work, the two decided to go on a boat ride to Elephanta.
While Rehan perished in the accident, Abhijeet was rescued.
An officer from Mora police station said, “Rehan sent some photos, such as selfies taken on the ferry, to his sister, updating her about their Mumbai trip. Later, when the news about the boat accident appeared on television, the family tried to reach him. They failed as his phone was switched off. Anxious, they reached out to Mokim Raza, a relative from Navi Mumbai, who told them to keep calm, as there is weak cell phone network in Elephanta and that he might be stuck somewhere due to the accident.”
Soon after, the family received a call from Mora port police, informing them about Rehan’s death. His body was fished out by cops in Uran. “Constable Tushar Patil of Mora police station removed the SIM card from Rehan’s defunct phone, inserted it in his phone and called the family,” said the police officer.
Raza said, Rehan’s sister was to be wed on December 27.
‘We have not informed her of her mother’s death yet’
Sixty-year-old Rama Rati Devi Gupta, a native of Uttar Pradesh, was in the city to attend her nephew Gautam Gupta’s marriage, which took place on December 11.
“After the wedding, Gautam, a Nalasopara resident, decided to take them on a Mumbai darshan. Gautam, Rama and her daughter Ranita, set out for Elephanta Island,” said Ajay Gupta, son-in-law of Rama, who perished in the water.
When the crash with the naval speedboat occurred, Gautam grabbed Ranita’s hand, to take her to safety. He found a wooden plank floating by and led Ranita to it. He swam back to find his aunt, but she had drowned by then. “He swam back to the wooden plank and both he and Ranita were rescued by one of the speedboats that had arrived by then to help passengers,” said Ajay, adding Gautam and Ranita are admitted in St George Hospital. “We have not broken the news of her mother’s death to Ranita.”
‘I regret not being on the ferry’
The Pavaras from Dhule district were in Mumbai to see the sights. Of the eight members of the extended family, Sairam and his cousin decided to stay back on at the Gateway, while other family members set sail in Neel Kamal for Elephanta Island. After the crash, while all the others were rescued, Sairam’s three-year-old daughter Mahi was fished out of the waters.
“When we were informed by a cousin who was on board about the incident, we rushed to the Colaba beat chowky (located at Gateway of India) to inform the police about the accident,” said Sairam, who owns a medical store in Dhule.
“All my relatives tried to search for Mahi after the boat capsized, but she went somewhere deep in water; they could only find her body,” he said, adding, “My only regret is that I wasn’t on the boat. I could have saved her.”
Sairam’s pregnant wife has been admitted in St George’s Hospital. “We have not informed her about Mahi,” said Rajesh Pavara, uncle of the deceased.
Motor mechanic, co-worker were deployed on Navy boat
Hyderabad resident Trilekar Deepak worked as a motor mechanic with a company that supplies boat engines and accessories to the Navy for the past five years. He would visit Mumbai on assignment for 7-10 days every now and then and was on board when the Navy speedboat crashed into the ferry on Wednesday, killing him and several others. He was accompanied by his coworker Pravin Ramnath Sharma, who was also killed in the accident.
“The speedboat crashed into the ferry with such speed that Deepak’s body was flung in the air and into the ferry and he died immediately,” said his coworker, Noor Shaikh, as he helped his brothers from Hyderabad collect his body following the postmortem at JJ Hospital.
Deepak was the youngest of five brothers and two of them flew down to Mumbai on Wednesday night after being informed about the incident at around 8pm, said Shravan Kumar, his elder brother, 32.
“We will take the body to Hyderabad where our mother is waiting,” he said.
Social worker had a habit of escaping by himself
Deepchand Waghchaure – a plumber and social worker who lived in Govandi with his wife, 17-year-old daughter, and 10-year-old son – had a habit of escaping all by himself, unbeknownst to his family. But when he didn’t pick up his daughter from college in the evening and calls to him went unanswered, they started worrying and called his uncle Dilip Gawade.
“We checked with many relatives, even as far as Nerul, to see if anyone had heard from him,” said Gawade. Neighbours and family friends also joined in the search, asking others about him, till they heard of the mid-sea accident and checked at the Colaba Police Station with a sinking feeling.
“We thought he might be injured, but then, the police directed us to JJ Hospital to verify if his body was among those dead. The worst possible thing had happened,” said Gawade, who accompanied Waghchaure’s family to JJ Hospital to collect his body.
Bhima Lokhande, another friend of the deceased who accompanied the family said Waghchaure was wearing a lot of gold, of which the police had returned only 20 tola. “We don’t know what happened to the rest,” he said.
Mechanical engineer was found via phone location
Badlapur resident Mangesh Mahadev Kelshikar had been working as a mechanical engineer for nearly eight months with a company contracted by the navy. He was on board the navy speedboat conducting engine trials when it crashed into the ferry on Wednesday and was killed instantly due to the impact of the accident.
“We called him around 8pm after we heard of the accident but he didn’t pick up,” said his brother Mahesh. “Sick with worry and scared, we called everyone we knew of from his company but got little concrete information. Finally, we traced him via his mobile phone location and were led to Mora Hospital in Uran where we found his body.”
The only breadwinner of his family, Kelshikar is survived by his mother, four-month pregnant wife and four-year-old son. “His mother is inconsolable and still crying,” said Mahesh as her grandson comforted her, urging her to drink water while dabbing at her tear-stained face.
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