New Delhi [India], May 4 : Families of the deceased gathered to offer condolences and prayers following a tragic accident in Jabalpur, where a cruise boat capsized in the waters of the Bargi Dam.
Deceased Marina's husband, Pradeep, blamed the captain's incompetence and a lack of safety gear for the tragic capsizing that claimed three of his family members.
"We know the pain we endured and the scene we witnessed... I was not able to understand whether that captain was trained or not... The storm wasn't so severe that it could capsize the entire ship; the captain is entirely at fault... They didn't distribute any life jackets; we were helping others with that... People later told us that they had jumped off the ship when it had stopped... I lost three members of my family," Pradeep told ANI.
On Sunday, the Jabalpur District Administration said search operations in the cruise boat tragedy at Bargi Dam in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district were completed with the recovery of two more bodies, raising the death toll to 13.
The bodies have been sent to a government hospital for postmortem, and all 13 missing persons identified have now been accounted for, officials said.
The boat operated by the state tourism department capsized on the evening of April 30. On May 1, officials said that 29 people were rescued and a search operation was mounted to trace those missing.
Multiple agencies, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and Army personnel, were involved in combing the waterbody and surrounding areas.
Several families lost their loved ones in the incident; some lost spouses, others their children, while siblings were separated forever.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of the victims.
"The loss of lives due to the capsizing of a boat in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, is extremely painful. I extend my condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in this tragic mishap. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. The local administration is assisting those affected. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRE would be given to the next of kin of each of those who lost their lives. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000," the Prime Minister's office said.
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