A navy boat crashed into a ferry in the Arabian Sea off the Mumbai coast after the “engine lost control” during trials. Thirteen people died in the incident including a navy personnel and two people from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).
A video, shot seconds before the crash, shows the speedboat with five onboard, moving in a zig-zag pattern in the sea. The boat first moves left and then steers right. It travels a distance and then takes a sharp left before turning around and approaching the passenger ferry which was carrying 110 people.
The driver of the boat tried to control the direction of the vessel but failed to do so and it crashed the ferry.
At about 1600 hours (4 pm), a navy craft undergoing engine trials lost control and collided with a passenger ferry, Neel Kamal, off Karanja, Mumbai. The ferry was carrying passengers from Gateway of India to Elephanta Island,” the navy said in a statement.
Earlier, it was reported the ship started sinking, but the cause was not known. The boat had sailed from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island, off the Mumbai coast.
More visuals show people wearing life jackets being rescued and shifted to another boat, while the vessel began tilting towards the water surface.
The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard carried out the rescue operation, with 11 navy boats, three boats of the Marine Police and a boat of the Coast Guard deployed in the area, a defence official said.
Four helicopters were involved in the search and rescue operation, the official said. Police personnel, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority workers, and fishermen in the area took part in the rescue operation.