Mumbai: Boat capsizes off Versova coast; three missing

MUMBAI: A boat carrying seven people from

Madh

to

Versova

capsized mid sea late on Tuesday. While four of the occupants of the boat swam to the Versova

jetty

, three are missing. The Malwani police have filed an FIR against three people for negligence and violating the lockdown.


Five of the occupants of the boat - Nazir Ahmad, Mohammad Yousuf Usman, Mohammad Sadiq Qasmani, Devraj Masco and Hussain- worked at a fish meal warehouse in Madh. All of them lived at Versova. The workshop was run by a senior citizen, Hanif Machhiwala.

"The employees had come for work but couldn't head back home due to the lockdown. Machhiwala should have offered them a place to stay at Madh. But he did not and the employees decided to go back home on their own," a police officer said. Due to the lockdown, the employees made a plan to hire a boat to travel unnoticed.

On Tuesday night, the owner of the boat, Naresh Koli, came to Madh with a boatman, Nagraj Sindhale. They helped the employees get on to the boat. "The group started their journey around 11.30 pm. But the boat capsized before reaching Versova jetty. We suspect it was overloaded," said senior inspector Jagdeo Kalapad, Malwani police.

The fire department received a call around 1 am and a rescue team was dispatched to Versova in half an hour. "Fire Brigade rescue boat and a jet ski was deployed for the rescue operation. The Sagari police and local fishermen also chipped in. But due to the high tide and rough sea, the search operation was called off at 4am," said an official from the fire department.

The Malwani police learnt of the incident much later when relatives of those missing approached them. "We have registered a case against Machhiwala, Koli and Sindhale," said Kalapad. "Koli and Sindhale have been arrested," he added.

Nazir Ahmad, Mohammad Yousuf Usman, Mohammad Sadiq Qasmani are missing. Both the boatmen and two other employees swam back to the shore.