All 88 passengers onboard a boat that capsized off the Mandwa coast near Mumbai were rescued successfully, after the boat hit a rough patch in the Arabian sea on Saturday morning.
The incident took place around 10.15 am on 14 March, when the passenger boat, Ajanta, was about to reach the Mandwa jetty in neighbouring district of Raigad after leaving the Gateway of India in south Mumbai, PTI reported.
"The boat carrying 88 people, hit a rocky patch around one km from the Mandwa jetty. Due to the impact, water started entering the boat and it began sinking," he said.
He added that panic ensued as women and children started shouting for help. The crew members of the boat called the authorities for rescue, he said.
"An alert was issued to Marine Police and other agencies. By that time, a police patrol boat with Police Naik Prashant Gharat and two crew members on board, reached the passenger boat," Superintendent of Raigad Police Anil Paraskar told PTI
Gharat led the rescue operation with the help of the crew and was able to safely evacuate all on-board. "Thanks to Gharat's presence of mind and timely action, the lives of all the passengers were saved," Paraskar said.
Gharat took 80 passengers in the police patrol boat, while the remaining eight were accommodated in another private boat. All the persons were brought to the Mandwa coast safely, Paraskar said, adding that the boat was being towed to the coast.
(With inputs from PTI)
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