Elephanta ferry capsize: How three CISF heroes rescued 35 in minutes

A Central Industrial Security Force CISF patrol boat Shera 1 turned into a lifesaver on Wednesday afternoon intially rescuing 35 passengers from the Neelkamal ferry vessel which capsized after being hit by an Indian Navy speedboat on Wednesday evening The ferry vessel carrying more than 100 passengers en route to the Elephanta Caves from Gateway of India capsized near Butcher Island With the help of Shera 1rsquos crew about 72 passengers were eventually rescuedThirteen people including two children died in the accident including an Indian Navy member and two original equipment manufacturers who were on the craft According to the Navy the craft was undergoing engine trials when the operator lost control and collided with the ferry vesselConstables Vikas Ghosh in uniform and Varun Singh in white Tshirt providing CPR to rescued passengersldquoLuckily our patrol boat was in the area We rushed to rescue passengers and saved 35 initially and a total of at least 72 after other agencies arrived We had sent an SOS to other agencies to initiate a larger rescue operationrdquo a CISF officer saidThe Defence PRO said in a statement ldquoAt about 315 pm the operator of a Navy craft undergoing engine trials lost control and collided with a passenger ferry off Karanja The ferry was carrying passengers from Gateway of India to Elephanta Island Searchandrescue efforts were immediately launched by the Navy in coordination with the Coast Guard and Marine Police Four naval helicopters 11 naval craft one Coast Guard boat and three Marine Police boats are undertaking rescue effortsrdquoA Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust vessel at the site of the mishap on Wednesday evening PicsShadab KhanldquoThe survivors picked up by Navy and civil craft in the area have been transferred to jetties and hospitals in the vicinity The accident has led to the tragic loss of 13 lives including one naval personnel and two OEMs original equipment manufacturers onboard the craftrdquo the statement by the Defence PRO addedAccording to sources the engine of the naval craft was recently changed and the same was undergoing a trial with the new engine the naval craft had six people on board including two from the Indian Navy and four from the firm that provided the new engineThe ML Aisha a boat which happened to be near the illfated Neelkamal ferry vessel at the time of the accidentCMrsquos updateAddressing the media during the winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis confirmed that the speedboat was owned and operated by the Indian Navy He said that while the new engine was being tested the boat developed a throttle problem resulting in the operator losing controlFadnavis announced financial assistance of R5 lakh for the families of the deceased He said 101 passengers were rescued by 730 pm He said he would share more information on Thursday morning According to the CM the accident will be probed by the state police and the NavyEyewitness accountA video shot by a passenger aboard the Neelkamal showing the naval craft losing control and crashing directly into the vessel went viral immediately after the incident triggering a massive rescue operation involving the Indian Navy Mumbai police Indian Coast Guard and the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust JNPT and the CISF ldquoI was returning from the Elephanta Caves in another boat when I saw people falling into the sea Nearby boats rushed to rescue themrdquo said an eyewitness who recorded the incidentCISF constables who saved the dayConstables Amol Maruti Sawant Vikas Ghosh and Arun Singh were on patrol just 4 or 5 nautical miles from the accident site as they headed toward Jawahar Deep IslandUpon receiving an SOS call from the CISF control room Sawant immediately turned their patrol boat around and rushed to the scene ldquoWe got the call at 355 pm and reached the location by 405 pmrdquo said SawantConstable Amol Sawant of the CISFldquoWhen we arrived the entire boat had capsized There were nine or 10 children The first person we rescued was a threeyearold Our priority was to save all the children One child unfortunately lost their life I am unaware of the exact agerdquo he addedDespite their patrol boatrsquos capacity to fit 15 passengers the team took about 30 people onboard They quickly transferred the rescued individuals to a passing JNPT boat ldquoMost of the rescued passengers were unconscious and we administered CPR before transferring them to another boatrdquo Sawant saidHe added ldquoPassengers were screaming for help and the children were crying We did our best to rescue everyonerdquoAccording to Sawant after they rescued the passengers rescue teams from the Navy Coast Guard and Mumbai police arrived to provide additional supportWith inputs by Dharmendra Jore