‘Horrific, Never Seen Before’: First Responders Recall Mumbai Ferry Tragedy

The ferry, which could carry up to 80 people, had departed from the Gateway of India for Elephanta Island about 45 minutes before the accident, details below.

Mumbai Boat Accident: The tragedy occurred on Wednesday around 4 p.m. when a Navy craft, undergoing engine trials, lost control and collided with the passenger ferry Neel Kamal near Karanja, close to Mumbai. According to the Navy, 13 people died, and 99 were rescued. The ferry was carrying passengers from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island, a popular tourist spot. Boat drivers who rushed to help victims of the ferry accident near Mumbai were shocked by the chaos at the scene. They described hearing people screaming and crying for help, calling it one of the most horrific incidents they had ever witnessed.

Arif Bamane, a driver of the Mumbai Port Trust pilot boat Poorva, said, "The situation was tragic and chaotic when we arrived. People were screaming for help, and some were crying." He recalled seeing a young girl who wasn’t breathing because water had entered her lungs. Bamane and his team performed chest compressions to help her breathe again, and she slowly started breathing normally.

Bamane said they focused on rescuing women and children first. Before their arrival, a fishing trawler and another tourist boat were already helping at the scene.

Rescue operations for passengers

He explained that his team was returning to Mumbai from Jawahar Deep on Wednesday evening when the control room informed them about the accident and instructed them to rush to the site near JD5. Despite having only four people on their boat, they worked hard to rescue the stranded passengers before more help arrived. Among the survivors, Bamane noticed three to four foreigners crying for help. "We tried to save as many people as possible," Bamane said, adding they rescued about 20-25 persons, who were later transferred to naval boats that arrived at the scene.

With 18 years of experience as a boat driver, Arif Bamane said he had been part of small rescue operations before, but Wednesday’s incident was the most tragic and horrifying he had ever witnessed. “This is the largest rescue operation I’ve been involved in,” he said.

Departure of the boat

Iqbal Gothekar, a small tourist boat driver, told PTI that he learned about the accident about 25-30 minutes after leaving Elephanta Island at 3:35 PM. He was one of the first to reach the scene. People on the capsized ferry were waving frantically for help, said Gothekar, a native of Raigad district who has been a boat driver since 2004.

By the time he reached, a fishing trawler had also arrived at the site. Gothekar’s boat rescued 16 people and safely brought them to the Gateway of India, where the survivors were taken to a police post. “In my career, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Gothekar said as he recalled the tragedy.

The ferry, which could carry up to 80 people, had departed from the Gateway of India for Elephanta Island about 45 minutes before the accident. According to sources, the incident occurred near Butcher Island.