AP boat tragedy: The victims skipped life jackets for lunch

Rajamahendravaram: Survivors of the boat accident said the boat owner had given life jackets to all but a little before it capsized, some of them had removed the jackets as it was announced that lunch would be served on board. Moreover, the weather was sultry and it was sweating heavily because of which many of them removed the jackets.

They said the boat suddenly started tilting sending passengers into panic mode. According to one survivor, most of those sitting on the upper deck of the boat seem to have survived. Some of them climbed on to the side deck as it tilted but soon they too got drowned as the boat capsized in the swirling waters.

Officials say that whirlpools during this season are a common factor in the river and the driver perhaps failed to steer clear of it. Another important reason for the mishap is that the driver could not assess the speed of the floodwater.

Careless driving and no control over the steering also said to be the reasons for the mishap. The survivors said that they had reached Rajamahendravaram on Saturday night and stayed in Rama Hotel. In the morning, they visited a temple before embarking on the journey.

Marine divers have been called from Visakhapatnam to pull the capsized boat but the retrieval may be taken up only after Monday morning. The spot where mishap occurred is accident-prone place.

Two major accidents had taken place at the same place in the past. In 1964, about 60 people died and in another similar accident last year, 20 people lost their lives.

Home minister M Sucharita said the government had ensured that no tourism boats are operated during this season. She said inquiry was on as to how the private boat was permitted and action would be taken once the report comes.

At present, the entire focus is on search and rescue operations, she said. The Andhra Pradesh government announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh and Telangana government announced another Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased.