At least thirteen people were killed Wednesday when an out-of-control Indian military speedboat rammed a passenger ferry off the coast of Mumbai, an Indian navy spokesman said.
Videos released by Indian newspapers, apparently filmed by passengers on the crowded ferry, show the roofless speedboat navigating busy waters off India’s economic capital. Then the boat turns sharply and collides with the ferry. Photos taken later show the ferry capsized.
One hundred people rescued
“Doctors have declared thirteen people dead,” Devendra Fadnavis, the head of government of the state of Maharashtra, told the press, saying he “shares the pain of their families”. According to him, more than a hundred people were rescued.
The ferry was carrying passengers from the India Gate, a monumental colonial-era arch on the seafront, to Elephanta Island, a popular tourist spot famous for its rock sculptures.
An “engine malfunction”
“A military ship conducting engine tests went out of control” and “collided with a passenger ferry,” the Indian Navy said in a statement, saying it regretted the “tragic loss” of human lives.
The navy added that an “engine malfunction” occurred. Among the thirteen dead were a sailor and two representatives of a naval equipment company who were participating in the tests, according to the navy. Two seriously injured people were evacuated to the naval hospital. Four military helicopters were mobilized for search and rescue operations, as well as eleven naval vessels and four from the police and coast guard.
World
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