22 drown after boat capsizes in TN’s Pulicat lake

22 persons died on Sunday after the boat in which they went on a pleasure trip capsized in Pulicat Lake, about 60 km from Chennai.

Twenty-two persons died on Sunday after the boat in which they went on a pleasure trip capsized in Pulicat Lake, about 70 km from here. The boat went down after being caught in the waves in the lake, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa said.

HT Image

The victims were from Tiruvallur district, where the accident took place, and the boat belonged to a private company, she said.

Tiruvallur collector Ashish Chatterjee told HT the accident happened around 4pm when a party of 25 went on a boat ride. “Three survived and eight bodies have been recovered so far,” Chatterjee said.

Those who survived were rescued by local fishermen. The boat had been operating in an area banned for such trips, the police said.

Fire and rescue service workers and local fishermen carried out search operations in the area, using floodlights.

Condoling the deaths, Jayalalithaa announced a relief of Rs 1 lakh for each bereaved family. She deputed ministers V Moorthy and BV Ramana to oversee search operations.

Governor K Rosaiah also expressed shock at the incident. “I am deeply shocked and grieved to hear about the tragic accident. I convey my deep condolences to the bereaved members of the family,” he said.

With inputs from Chennai