Port Blair: The bodies of victims of tourist boat tragedy in the Andman Sea have been sent to their respective states, police said on Monday.
Superintendent of Police of South Andaman Binay Biswal told PTI that post-mortem was done on the bodies of all the 21 victims at GB Panth Hospital here today.
After the post-mortem, the bodies were sent to the states which the deceased belonged to, the SP said.
The 26 tourists who survived the tragedy also left for their respective states, Biswal said. Three others were crew-members.
At least 21 persons died, 29 were rescued and one person was missing when the ferry carrying passengers beyond its capacity capsized in the Andaman Sea in the Andaman and Nicobar islands yesterday.
Official sources here said that the missing person had been identified as Suresh who hailed from Tamil Nadu.
Rakesh Bali, secretary Information, Publicity and Tourism of Andaman and Nicobar Administration, said that the owner-operator of the boat and the crew were being questioned by the police and were likely to be arrested and charged under non-bailable offences.
Of the 21 persons dead, 16 people are from Tamil Nadu, three from Maharashtra, one each are from UP and Kolkata.
A detailed safety audit has been ordered by the Lieutenant-Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lt-Gen (retd) AK Singh into the plying of boats in and around the islands, including those operating in the inter-island and mainland-island sector.
The Lieutenant-Governor has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 1 lakh to the kin of the deceased.
He also conveyed his condolences to the bereaved and also to the Governors and Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
