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 The 'Jalakanyaka, listing, is in a red square | |
 Zoomed image of tilted boat | |
| Location | Thekkady |
|---|---|
| Date | 30 September 2009 |
| No of People | 76 ??? |
| No of Deaths | 44 ?? |
| Name of Boat | 'Jalakanyaka' |
The Thekkady boat tragedy occurred on September 30 2009, when the double-decker passenger boat Jalakanyaka sank in Lake Thekkady, Periyar National Park, Kerala, India. When the boat capsized, 44 tourists died, most of them from Delhi and Kolkata. A total of 82 people were on the boat.
Investigations
Preliminary reports stated that the accident took place when a large number of tourists rushed to one side of the boat to see a wild animal spotted on the forest. The sudden movement caused the boat to capsize.
Later, this initial report was challenged when some of the rescued tourists reported structural problems with the boat, saying that it was tilted throughout the trip, for about 30 minutes. Then at one point the boat took a sharp turn, overturned and capsized.
The boat was owned and operated by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation. The government has been blamed for not privatizing these boats, for not enforcing safety precautions and for not having efficient disaster recovery plans. The crew of the boat, driver and helper escaped the incident. The passengers were not provided a life jacket before the trip.
Rescue Operation
Initial rescue attempts were made by the local people with the help of KTDC, Kerala Forest Department and Tamil Nadu PWD. None of the initial rescue boats which came had any divers. The rescue operations were hampered by the spreading darkness and the distance from the boat jetty. A team of divers from Indian Navy were assigned to help the rescue operation after 5-6 hours of the event.
Politicians including tourism minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, officials of the district administration and forest department state forces attended. A team of 40-50 navy divers were rushed to the spot from the Southern Naval Command at Kochi. On 3 October, the search for bodies was still ongoing.
The Government of Kerala ordered a judicial inquiry into the boat tragedy. The government would meet the expenses for sending the bodies of the deceased to their home states and said that Rs.5 Lakhs would be provided to the next kin of each of the dead in the accident.
References
- "Kin of victims, minister in spat over boat tragedy". Retrieved 2009-10-03.
- "fullstory". Press Trust of India. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
- "Three more bodies recovered from Thekkady lake, toll 44". Retrieved 2009-10-03.