Mumbai: 2 dead, 5 missing as speedboat hits ferry near Gateway of India

Two passengers died as a ferry carrying 85 people including five crew members capsized off the Mumbai coast, near the Gateway of India, after a speedboat rammed into it on Wednesday (December 18).

The video was captured on camera and it shows a speedboat with four men abroad zig-zagging before hitting the ferry. While 80 people were rescued, a search is underway for five people who are missing, according to reports.

Boat dashed into ferry

The ferry boat Neelkamal, which was on its way to Elephanta Islands near Mumbai, capsized near Uran, Karanja, a police official told the media.

A police official said a speedboat dashed against Neelkamal around 4 pm, possibly causing the accident.

The survivors are on board Indian Coast Guard ship Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, Coast Guard officials told the media. A body has also been recovered while search operations are being carried out by Coast Guard ships, they said.

Search operations on

The Navy and Coast Guard have launched a massive rescue operation, with 11 Navy boats and three boats of Marine Police and a boat of Coast Guard being deployed in the area, a defence official said.

Four helicopters are also involved in the search and rescue operation, the official said.

Personnel from police, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority, and local fishermen are also involved in the rescue work, the official said.

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Boat was on way back to Mumbai

The boat had reportedly set off from the Gateway of India to the Elephanta Island. The incident happened as it was on its way back to Mumbai.

Videos doing the rounds of social media showed some people wearing life jackets and some without being shifted to another boat as the vessel tilted dangerously in the water.

(With agency inputs)