Silvassa boat mishap: Toll 5, all are seniors from Mumbai

SURAT: The death toll in a boat capsize accident in Dudhni lake of Silvassa touched five as three more bodies were fished out on Wednesday.
The deceased, all senior citizens from Mumbai, included four women. In all, 31 people were on the boat, 24 of them guests. Preliminary investigations revealed that it was a second-hand boat purchased by the owners of Khanvel Resort of Silvassa and was on its first sail after its renovation.The resort owner had invited his friends from Mumbai for the maiden sail.
The dead were identified as Pallavi Shah (62), Vina Bhola (60), Panna Shah (60), Sunita Kothari (62) and Vipin Shah (68). Of the five, three persons were trapped inside the boat when it capsized while two others drowned after they jumped out in panic.
“The boat capsized within a few minutes of starting out around 6.45pm. Nearby villagers and labourers at a bridge construction site were the first to rush to their rescue. Soon, administration staff teams reached the site of the mishap and joined the operations,” said Praful Patel, in-charge administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Nirmal Jain, owner of Khanvel Resort, was also on board. He was rescued. He had purchased the used boat from Alang and got it renovated.
“We have registered an offence of criminal negligence against the owner and further investigation will be done now,” Pramod Mishra, superintendent of police, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, said. “Bodies of the deceased persons were handed over to their family members after post-mortem.”