A survivor of the Mumbai boat accident that claimed 13 lives has opened up about the moment of impact and its aftermath. At least 13 people died and two were critically injured after a passenger ferry capsized off the coast of Mumbai on Wednesday evening. The ferry was hit by an out-of-control Indian Navy speedboat while plying tourists to Elephanta Island.
The collision occurred close to Butcher Island around 4 pm on Wednesday, December 18.
The ferry had approximately 110 passengers including 20 children, according to Indian Navy officials. Among the deceased, 10 were civilians, and three were Navy personnel.
“Motionless body on ferry deck”
Gautam Gupta was travelling on the ferry between Mumbai and Elephanta Island when the collision occurred. The 25-year-old recorded a video of the moment of impact.
Gupta told Times of India that he presumed the Indian Navy speedboat was doing stunts in the sea, and therefore started recording it. He said that the force of the impact was such that the speedboat’s passengers were flung into the air.
“I was recording the video of a speedboat presuming it was doing stunts when it suddenly hit our ferry. To my utter disbelief and shock, on impact, one of the speedboat’s passengers was flung into the air and crashed on the deck of our ferry just beside me. His motionless body was badly mutilated,” said Gautam Gupta.
Gupta was on his way to Elephanta Caves with his aunt and his cousin when the collision occurred. His aunt remains missing. He and his cousin, Rinta Gupta, are currently receiving treatment at St George’s Hospital with other survivors.
Google Trends
“Mumbai boat accident” has become one of the top trends on Google after the tragedy. In the past 24 hours, the term has seen over 20,000 searches. According to Google Trends, the search interest began around 5.30 pm on December 18 and peaked in the early hours of December 19. At around 4.10 am on December 19, the search term reached peak popularity.
The maximum interest came from Maharashtra, followed by Goa and Tripura. Related search queries included “Boat accident in Mumbai” and Elephanta Caves.