On December 18, a tragic accident occurred off the Mumbai coast when a Navy boat collided with a tourist ferry on its way to Elephanta Island from the Gateway of India. The collision caused the ferry to begin sinking, sending waves of panic among passengers, particularly parents who feared for the lives of their children.
In the midst of this terrifying situation, a team of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) marine commandos, led by constable Amol Savant, rushed to the scene and played a key role in saving lives. The team, on routine patrol, received an urgent distress call around 4 pm and immediately sped toward the accident site, located about 3-4 km from the shore.
Upon arrival, Savant and his colleagues were faced with a chaotic and alarming sight. Parents, gripped by fear, were considering throwing their children into the sea, hoping they might survive the sinking ferry. “We saw people were ready to throw their children in the ocean water thinking that they would be saved from the sinking ship,” Savant said. “I asked them not to panic and not attempt this. We took charge of the situation soon.”
Using their training, the CISF team quickly took control of the situation. They focused on rescuing the most vulnerable, beginning with the children. “I was shaken initially when I reached the site, but when I saw the children hanging dangerously from whatever was left of the sinking ferry and their helpless parents, I and my colleagues just caught hold of the children and brought them in our boat,” Savant recalled. The team managed to rescue six to seven children in the first round of operations, followed by women and men.
Savant reported that they rescued approximately 50-60 people in total from the ill-fated ferry, as many passengers raised their hands in desperation, either screaming for help or silently pleading for survival.
Another CISF member, Sub-Inspector Kheioka Sema, was part of the second patrol boat that arrived at the scene. Sema recalled encountering a woman wearing a life jacket who had raised her hands in anticipation of being rescued. “We rushed to her and gently asked her to put her hands down else the jacket would slip, and she would start drowning,” Sema explained.
The CISF team also performed CPR on 10-12 victims, reviving them and expelling the water they had swallowed. Among the rescuers was a foreign couple from the ferry who stepped in as Good Samaritans and assisted in performing CPR.
“We spread out over a 300-metre radius, scanning for survivors and retrieving bags, life jackets, and other belongings from the water,” Sema said.
While the exact number of casualties is still being reported, the quick actions of the CISF team, as well as the courage of other bystanders, likely prevented further loss of life in the tragic accident.
Sources By Agencies
