As he jumped into the debri-strewn waters from the sinking boat, Ralph Clement had thrown a furtive glance back at those stranded on it.
The sight of the boat being split into two in the backdrop of wailing by women and children is likely to haunt him for many days to come. Clement was among the fortunate who managed to swim to safety from the ill-fated boat.
“The boat began to sink like a stone from the rear, and the women were too shocked to even attempt swimming,” he said. Clement also recalls the gagging, vomiting survivors desperately trying to disgorge the heavily diesel-spiked water they had ingested.
Rani, a resident of Kumbalanghi who survived. ``All I could do was to cling on to the overhead rod. I thought it was the end of my life until someone’s hands just plucked me out of the water,’’ she said.
Iqbal, an eye witness to the accident who sustained a leg injury during the rescue, says the whole thing was over in a blur ``The fishing vessel rammed into the boat and the next I saw was the broken boat sinking into the water,’’ he said.
Ebin Johnson, a youngster, escaped unhurt as he dived into the water as soon as it was apparent that the speeding fishing vessel would collide with the boat. ``I got a feeling that they didn’t let go the accelerator even after hitting the boat,’’ he said.
Selin, who was on the way to visit the younger sister, said that she saw something hitting bang in the middle of the boat where the driver is seated and the next thing she remembers is sinking. She was unconscious when brought ashore but was lucky to escape with a minor head injury.
There were also allegations that the passenger boat lacked adequate facilities for passenger safety. “There were just three buoys and no life-jackets in the boat. Further, the wooden boat involved in the accident was at least 35 years old and ill maintained’’, held S.Padmanabha Mallya, Secretary, Paschimakochi Passengers Association.
