Seven-year-old passenger Johan Pathan is still missing two days after the Neel Kamal boat capsized off the coast of Mumbai after colliding with a navy speedboat on Wednesday.
Johan’s family is still waiting for word about him while his mother Sakina Pathan, 34, sat holding the boy in her arms after the drowning.
Residents of Mapusa, Goa, Ashraf Pathan, his wife Sakina, five members of the Pathan family including two sons-Johan and a 10-month-old baby and his sister-in-law Sonali Gounder had come to Mumbai for some work. Which they decided to turn into a mini-vacation.
It was only their second day in the city. After a stroll in Colaba where they bought T-shirts for the little ones, the family was planning to spend the rest of their evening at the Elephanta Caves when tragedy struck. Ashraf, his minor son and sister-in-law survived the accident. The search for kindergarten student Johann continues.
Fish trader Ashraf said The Indian Express: “After shopping at the Colaba market, we boarded the boat from the gateway around 2.45 to 3 pm. We saw that the boat was overloaded. There were no life jackets or tires on the side of the boat. I was holding our ten month old baby and Sakina was holding Johan. After the accident, we couldn’t find the life jackets. “
Friends who share search updates
Sakina’s body was later found and taken to INHS Sandhani Hospital in Karanje. Later, it was confirmed that he died of drowning during the post-mortem at Indira Gandhi Rural Hospital in Uran. On Thursday, the family collected his remains from the hospital and left for Goa where he was cremated.
Ashraf’s friends are in Mumbai, keeping him updated on the search for Johan. However, they did not get any information from the police officers till Friday afternoon. ‘There has been no news about him yet. No one from the government has contacted us in these difficult times,” Ashraf said on Friday afternoon.
Ashraf, who has lost his wife, is adamant in the hope of finding his son. “We are praying to God and making it a prayer For her well-being,” he said.
Also missing: Rs 20,000, purse, goods bought at Colaba market a few hours ago
Sonali, who was on board the boat, said earlier that the family would return to Goa in two days. “While we survived, the loss of our sister devastated us. We are told that a missing person’s case has been registered at the Colaba police station. Even though it is a navy boat, the authorities have not given us any updates,” said Sonali The Indian Express Thursday.
According to the family, around 15,000 to 20,000 cash, Sakina’s purse, other valuables and bag, bought in the Colaba market hours ago, are missing.
14 people including a naval personnel were killed in the accident. The bodies of 13 people were found within a few hours and the body of Hansaram Bhati was found on Thursday evening. About 99 people including passengers and crew members of the boat have been rescued.
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