What caused Mumbai boat accident that killed 13?

New Delhi: A speedboat crashed into a passenger ferry off the Mumbai coast on Wednesday, killing 13 people, including three Navy personnel.

Indian Navy later acknowledged that the speedboat was a naval craft which lost control.

The Neelkamal ferry was on its way to Elephanta Islands, a popular tourist destination near Mumbai, when the speed boat crashed into it around 4 pm.

Indian Navy later issued a statement and stated that the craft lost control while undertaking engine trials in Mumbai Harbour due to engine malfunction. As a result, the boat collided with a passenger ferry which subsequently capsized, it said.

Mr Natharam Chaudhary, who shot the video, later filed a police complaint against the speedboat driver and other navy personnel responsible for the mishap.

The navy said it had launched an investigation to determine the exact cause of the accident.

Commentators on social media lashed out at the navy over the lapses and asked why the boat was travelling at such a high speed.

“It is the height of irresponsibility and professional failure that a navy boat hits a passenger ferry killing 13 persons off Mumbai. Is navy chief sleeping over such lapses? At least Rajnath should order a probe and take swift action against negligent personnel,” one user named S Vasudeva Rao posted on X, asking defence minister Rajnath Singh to take action.

Sharing the “shocking video” of the incident, another user Anand Sarkar said: “From the video it looks like extremely reckless stuff by the navy boat.”

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