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What caused the Kerala boat accident that killed 22 people

As authorities in Kerala conduct a probe into the tragedy, details emerge about how the owner of the boat had violated regulations to run his business

Published: Tue 9 May 2023, 4:38 PM

Updated: Tue 9 May 2023, 4:48 PM

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Credit: Screenshot/Twitter

Credit: Screenshot/Twitter

Negligence and blatant flouting of norms — including unscientific structural changes — are among the reasons that might have been behind a deadly boat accident in the southern Indian state of Kerala over the weekend, according to Indian media reports.

More than 20 people drowned after a “heavily overloaded” double-decker boat on an excursion capsized at Parappanangadi in Kerala's Malappuram on Sunday evening, the Times of India reported.

It said the boat was in the water past the official deadline of 5pm; the accident took place after 7pm.

"The boat that sank in the Poorapuzha estuary in Tanur municipality on Sunday evening, killing 22 people, 15 of them children, was packed with local tourists to twice its capacity and was not cleared for post-dusk operations," an editorial in The Hindu said.

It remains unclear how a fishing boat fitted with an upper deck received clearance, if at all it did, to conduct inland tourist operations, the editorial added.

The Kerala government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has also ordered a special probe.

"It was just a month ago that international disaster management expert Muralee Thummarukudy issued a prescient warning, which sounds eerie in hindsight, of an imminent houseboat tragedy in Kerala with at least 10 casualties.

"The cautionary note flagged the absence of crew training, sparse availability and use of safety material such as life vests, lack of on-board briefing of guests and erratic renewal of operational licence and enforcement thereon," The Hindu editorial said.

Indian media reports have pointed out that operators of the boat called "Atlantic" continued to invite people to the ferry for "last trip of the day", even though it was overcrowded. The boat had some 40 people on board when it capsized.

"The boat was originally a fibre fishing vessel that was modified unscientifically" to be operated as a tourist boat, sensing a business opportunity, according to documents accessed by Manorama.

It said the boat changed a few hands before it was bought for Rs 20,000 by the current owner, Nasser, who has been arrested.

He had sought permission from the Kerala Maritime Board to operate the service with 21 passengers, but was not granted final approval, according to report on mathrubhumi.com.

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