Kerala boat tragedy: Speeding fishing vessel caused mishap

KOCHI: The police team probing the Fort Kochi boat tragedy, which has claimed the lives of 10 persons, has found that the speeding  by the fishing vessel  and the negligence of the person driving it were the  prime reasons for the mishap.

The survivors of the accident  said the  fishing vessel had rammed into the passenger boat in high speed, Mr G. Venu, Mattancherry assistant commissioner of police, told DC on Saturday.

“We are in the process of investigation and the final report and chargesheet will be completed only after some time. But, based on statements of  the witnesses of the incident,  we have made some preliminary assessments,”  he said.

The passengers in the boat, the main eyewitnesses in the case, have said that they had  raised an alarm after seeing the fishing vessel approaching the boat, he said. The crew of the boat also repeatedly honked to grab the attention of the fishing vessel, he added.

The probe team has collected some mobile phone footages supporting the accounts given by the passengers.             

The  team concluded that  Shiju, navigating the  fishing vessel,  also failed to observe the precautions required  by the crew of the boats operating in the area.

Normally, the boats operate at slow speed near the jetty so as  not to create any ripples in the water destabilizing smaller vessels.

The srank (driver) of the fishing boat was guilty of leaving the vessel in the hands of Shiju, who did not have  any experience in navigating a boat, officials said.

The boat came to the shore after a fishing expedition and the majority of the crew,  including the srank, got down leaving the vessel in the hands of Shiju. He was asked to anchor the vessel at  Mattancherry after filling diesel.