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An Indian Navy speedboat that was undergoing engine trials lost control and collided with a passenger ferry off the Mumbai coast today. The navy in a statement said 13 people including a naval officer and two people from the original equipment manufacturer were killed in the accident.
A video of the accident was captured on camera from the ferry which was carrying 110 people. The navy craft was carrying five people.
Ten ferry passengers were killed, while the remaining 102 including the two survivors from the navy craft were rescued.
"At about 1600 hours (4 pm), a navy craft undergoing engine trials lost control and collided with a passenger ferry, Neel Kamal, off Karanja, Mumbai. The ferry was carrying passengers from Gateway of India to Elephanta Island," the navy said in a statement.
The video of the speedboat colliding with the ferry surfaced over two hours after the accident happened.
Earlier, it was reported the ferry started sinking, but the cause was not known. The boat had sailed from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island, off the Mumbai coast.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he was "deeply saddened by the loss of precious lives in the collision between passenger ferry and the Indian Navy craft in Mumbai harbour..."
Deeply saddened by the loss of precious lives in the collision between passenger ferry and Indian Navy craft in Mumbai Harbour. Injured personnel, including naval personnel & civilians from both vessels, are receiving urgent medical care.
My heartfelt condolences to the...
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) December 18, 2024
More visuals show people wearing life jackets being rescued and shifted to another boat, while the vessel began tilting towards the water surface.
The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard carried out the rescue operation, with 11 navy boats, three boats of the Marine Police and a boat of the Coast Guard deployed in the area, a defence official said.
Four helicopters were involved in the search and rescue operation, the official said. Police personnel, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority workers, and fishermen in the area took part in the rescue operation.
People use public ferries to sail to the Elephanta Caves, located east of Gateway of India.