32 tourists drown in Thekkady reservoir
http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/01/stories/2009100158290100.htm
— Photo: Special arrangement
Rescue efforts under way, as the toppled boat lies half-submerged in the
Thekkady reservoir.
THEKKADY: More than 32 tourists on board a double-decker boat owned and
operated by the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation were killed when it
capsized in one of the deepest zones of the Mullaperiyar dam reservoir in
Kerala’s Idukki district around 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The toll would possibly be
higher, according to informed sources.
A rescue team had recovered 26 bodies till 8 p.m. Two persons were rescued
alive.
The rescue operation was continuing late into the night. Four tourists who were
rescued in a critical condition died later. There were five foreign tourists,
of whom two died.
A total of 82 persons were travelling in the boat, named ‘Jala Kanyaka’; 60 of
them belonged to one group from Karnataka. The boat left the jetty around 4
p.m. and capsized some 7 km away.
All the 60 persons from Karnataka had come in a tourist bus to Thekkady as part
of their tour of Kerala. Preliminary investigation revealed that the accident
took place when a large group of tourists on the upper deck rushed to one side
of the boat to see animals spotted on the forest fringes. In the sudden
movement, the boat overturned. All the 82 tourists in the boat were thrown into
the water. Twenty persons, who were mostly on the upper deck of the boat were
rescued by boats sent in by the KTDC, the Forest Department and the Tamil Nadu
PWD.
The rescue operations were hampered by the spreading darkness and the distance
of the accident spot from the boat landing centre. The area where the boat
capsized was about 100 feet deep and the shore had wild animals such as
elephants.
The helpline numbers are: Thiruvananthapuram Control Room – 0471-2331403;
0471-1331639 and 0471-2333198. Control Room, Kerala House, Delhi: 011-23342320;
011-30411500.
With Regards
Abi
“At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice
he is the worst”
- Aristotle
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