A Delhi family's sightseeing trip after attending a housewarming ceremony in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur turned into tragedy after their cruise boat capsized in the Bargi reservoir on the Narmada river, their relatives said Monday.
The cruise boat, carrying 40 passengers and operated by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Department, was hit with strong winds and waves and overturned on Thursday (April 30) evening.
Three members of the family of six, Merina, 39, her four-year-old son Trishan, also called Jahan, and her mother, Madhur Massey, 62, lost their lives in the incident. Merina's sister Treeza Chauhan (36) recounted her last video call to her around 5.30 pm– hair blowing in the wind, smiling, turning the camera to show the cruise boat. However, her next call at 6.07 pm “was hysterical”, her sister said.
“She was shouting, crying that they were drowning. She asked me to pray for them. She kept saying ‘save us, save us’ and then the call got disconnected,” Treeza stated. Treeza said that she had tried to call back multiple times, but no one took her calls. Treeza further said that in her video call with her sister before the incident, she had noticed that no one was wearing life jackets. “…No one was wearing life jackets, which was shocking for me but I didn’t say anything because she looked very happy showing me the views,” she said.
Also Read | Panic, dead bodies floating, negligence: Survivors recount Jabalpur boat tragedy horror
‘Lost everything in this tragedy’
{{/usCountry}}Also Read | Panic, dead bodies floating, negligence: Survivors recount Jabalpur boat tragedy horror
‘Lost everything in this tragedy’
{{/usCountry}}Merina's husband Pradeep described the moments after the boat capsized. “As storm winds battered the vessel, water rushed in. A man and I broke the lock to get life jackets. My father-in-law grabbed a tube and reached the river bank. My daughter and I wore jackets and were saved with ropes,” Pradeep said, according to an earlier HT report.
He said that the last he saw Merina was when she was helping her son Trishan wear his life jacket. “She hugged him inside hers. I lost everything in this tragedy,” Pradeep said. Merina's brother, Kuldeep, said everyone from the first floor had “rushed downstairs” as the weather changed. “The boat was shaking badly, and water began entering. Then, my brother-in-law, Pradeep, hurriedly started searching for life jackets,” PTI cited Kuldeep as saying.
Kuldeep said that while some passengers had worn jackets, others jumped in the water in fear. “Those who jumped were saved by local villagers using ropes and rescue equipment. My father was among those rescued,” Kuldeep added.