At least 21 dead after boat overturns in India’s Kerala state
At least 21 people drowned after a double-decker tourist boat capsized in India’s southern state of Kerala, local authorities have said.
The boat, which was carrying about 40 inbound passengers, overturned off the coastal town of Tanur because it was overcrowded, said Abdul Nazar, Malappuram district’s junior superintendent of police.
He said about 10 passengers were being treated in various hospitals.
The death toll was likely to rise as the boat was stuck in muddy waters and was being pulled out to rescue those trapped inside, Kerala’s minister for fisheries and harbour development, V Abdurahiman, told reporters.
He said most of the victims were children on school holidays. Four people were taken to hospital in a critical condition, the PTI news agency quoted him as saying. Survivors told local media that many of the passengers were not wearing life jackets.
The incident in the Malappuram district took place at about 7pm local time on Sunday and a team from the National Disaster Response Force was at the site, a Kerala State Disaster Management Authority spokesperson said.
“Pained by the loss of lives due to the boat mishap in Malappuram, Kerala,” Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, said in a tweet.
With Agence France-Presse
Source: The Guardian
