A day later a A private boat heading to the Elephanta Cave capsizes The death toll in the accident which took place on Thursday after an Indian Navy speedboat collided with it during an engine test has reached 14. Thirteen people, including one from the navy and two from the OEM, died, while the fourteenth victim, 43-year-old Hansram Bhati, was found on Thursday evening after 24 hours of the accident.
A seven-year-old boy is still missing, authorities said. Relatives are still looking for the minor, Yohan Nisar Ahmed Pathan, a resident of Goa, who was in Mumbai on a two-day trip with his mother and elder brother.
According to official figures, two of the 14 victims were minors, four were women and eight were men. The other deceased are Rakesh Nanaji Ahire (34), Harshada Rakesh Ahire (31), Nidish Rakesh Ahire (5), Mahi Pavara (3), Sakina Pathan (34), Pravin Sharma (34), Mangesh Kelshikar (33). Mohammad Rehan Qureshi (35), Rama Devi Gupta (50), Mahendra Singh Shekhawat (31), Pragya Kamble (39), Deepchand Waghchoure (42) and Deepak Trilekar.
The Indian Express was able to trace relatives and friends of 11 of the 14 victims.
Deepak Tilekar, 29
Deepak Tilekar had come to Mumbai from Hyderabad last week to work on a project to test a newly installed motor in a speed boat of the Indian Navy.
An engineering professional, who specializes in the field of boat repair, was hired by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to build and install a new motor on a boat.
On Wednesday, the speedboat, which was doing a trial run in the sea for testing the newly installed motor, collided with a wooden passenger boat, killing Deepak on board.
His body was taken to JJ Hospital in Mumbai for post-mortem and later handed over to his relatives. He has a mother and four siblings.
Deepak, a resident of Putrela, Hyderabad, had been working in the organization for more than five years. ‘I came to know about the incident last (Wednesday) at around 8 pm. There is no confirmation about his whereabouts and we are told this (Thursday) morning that the body has been shifted to JJ Hospital in Mumbai. We came here immediately,” Deepak’s younger brother, Kishan Tilekar (32), told The Indian Express.
A spokesperson of the OEM company where he works said that Deepak was standing near the ship when the accident happened.
“He spoke to our mother yesterday afternoon before going to the tent. Every day after dinner he would call her to inform her that he had eaten. The last time we spoke was a few weeks ago when I told him that we should get married next year,” Kishan said.
The spokesperson of the company said that Deepak was a conscientious and diligent employee and enjoyed the testing process of the new motor. The spokesperson also said that he was specially brought to Mumbai as it was an important job.
“I knew him for five years and he was very professional who never said ‘no’ to anything. He enjoyed sailing and had earlier been part of similar assignments in Chennai and Goa,” the spokesperson said.
Sakina Ashraf Pathan, 34
Sakina Ashraf Pathan and her two sons, were in Mumbai on a work-related trip, which they decided to double as a holiday. On Wednesday, Sakina took her two sons, sister Sonali Gounder and another relative in a boat and reached Elephanta Cave.
Although three members of the family managed to survive in the accident, Sakina Pathan died while her younger son, 7-year-old Yohan Nisar Ahmed Pathan, is missing.
Sakina’s sister, Sonali Gounder, told The Indian Express, “My sister is gone and there is no update on her seven-year-old son… We have not received any update on his whereabouts. We are told that a missing case has been registered at the Colaba police station. “
Mohammad Rehan Qureshi, 35
Mohammad Rehan Qureshi, a resident of Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, was on a short business trip to Mumbai with his boss. He was the sole breadwinner of his family of seven, which consisted of his parents, brother and three younger sisters.
Days before his sister’s wedding scheduled for December 27, tragedy struck at Qureshi’s home.
Qureshi worked in a garment shop and frequently visited Mumbai on small business trips related to marketing.
Qureshi’s brother-in-law Mokin Raza told The Indian Express, “They learned their job early and decided to take a ferry to Elephanta on Wednesday evening. His boss Abhijit Singh managed to survive, but Rehan did not. He was the only earning member of the family as his brother has just completed his education and is looking for a job.”
After getting the news, Raza, a resident of Mumbai, reached the spot. Rehan’s body was taken to Bihar on Thursday evening.
Ramrati Devi Gupta, 50
Earlier this month, Ramrati Devi Gupta came to Mumbai with her daughter from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh for a relative’s wedding. The family decided to visit Elephanta Cave on Wednesday. Gupta was on the boat with his daughter and another relative – whose wedding she had come to attend – and his wife.
Her relative Ajay Gupta (Ramrati was mother-in-law’s sister) said, “After getting married, she was living in my brother-in-law’s house in the suburbs. As he would be back in a few days, the family had planned to visit Elephanta. Ramrati’s daughter and two other members of our family survived the accident, we lost her.
Mahi Power, 3
The youngest victim in the boat accident is three-year-old Mahi Sairam from Dhuleko Sirpur. She was in town with her family on a two-day visit.
According to Mahi’s relatives, he was riding in a boat with his mother when the accident happened. “We had come to Mumbai for two days and would return tomorrow (Friday),” the relative said.
Praveen Sharma, 34
According to the postmortem report, Praveen Sharma, a resident of Telangana, died of head injuries. His brother, who hails from Telangana, declined to comment.
“While most of the patients’ post-mortem reports show that they died due to drowning, Praveen sustained injuries on his head and other parts,” officials said.
According to the post-mortem report, he sustained injuries on his shoulder, arm and abdomen.
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