2014 Andaman boat disaster

Coordinates: 11°40′41″N 92°45′18″E / 11.678°N 92.755°E / 11.678; 92.755
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2014 Andaman Boat Disaster
DateJanuary 26, 2014 (2014-01-26)
Location"Aqua Marine" (tourist boat),
near Port Blair, India
Coordinates11°40′41″N 92°45′18″E / 11.678°N 92.755°E / 11.678; 92.755
CauseOverloading
ParticipantsCrew and 45 passengers
OutcomeBoat capsized
Deaths22[1]

2014 Andaman boat disaster was an incident which occurred on 26 January 2014, when a tourist boat capsized near Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, killing 22 people.[1] The boat "Aqua Marine" was carrying 45 tourists from Tamil Nadu and Mumbai.

Accident[edit]

The boat "Aqua Marine" was carrying 45 tourists from India from Ross Island, Port Blair Tehsil to North Bay when it sank and at least 21 people lost their lives.[2] The capacity of the boat was 25 and overloading of the boat resulted in the tragedy.[2] The boat sank at a distance of about 2.5 km from the shore of Port Blair and majority of the tourists were from Tamil Nadu.[3] The administration of the Island group was busy with Republic Day of India and learnt the news at 4.30 p.m. on 26 January 2014.[3] More than 29 people were rescued by district administration while one was still missing. Rescued were admitted to G B Pant hospital. The boat had no life jackets and there were no divers on board.[4]

Reports say that two months before this accident, a tourist wrote a letter to the union tourism ministry about the lack of safety standards in Andaman islands’ tourism circuit.[5]

Aftermath[edit]

Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration announced a 100,000 Indian Rupee ex-gratia payment to the family of the deceased tourists.[2] India's then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa expressed their grief over the accident, while Jayalalithaa also announced a compensation of 100,000 Indian Rupees each to the families of dead.[6] Owner of the boat and two others were detained by the law enforcing agencies for enquiry.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Information Relating to Boat Accident in Andaman & Nicobar Islands" (Press release). PIB. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "21 die as boat with tourists capsizes in Andaman". The Hindu Business Line. 26 January 2014. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  3. ^ a b Kumar, Ravi N (26 January 2014). "21 dead in boat capsize near Port Blair". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 January 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
  4. ^ a b PTI (27 January 2014). "Three detained in connection with Andaman ferry tragedy". Archived from the original on 29 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  5. ^ Gulati, Archana. "Andaman Boat Tragedy: How can we prevent such Incidents?". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  6. ^ "Manmohan Singh and Jayalalithaa condole Andaman Boat Tragedy". IANS. Biharprabha News. Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2014_Andaman_boat_disaster&oldid=1159428142"