Kerala boat tragedy: Owner who was on the run arrested

Kochi: A day after the boat accident that claimed the lives of 22 people at Tanur in Malappuram district, the Kerala police on Monday arrested Nasar, the owner of the ill-fated boat, Atlantic, from Kozhikode.

The incident occurred around 7.30pm on Sunday night when the boat was approaching the jetty with over 40 passengers. It sank leaving 22 people dead.

Following this incident, Nasar was on the run and on Monday morning a police team intercepted his car and took him, his brother and a friend into custody from near here.

The police are understood to have tracked the vehicle as Nasar’s phone was in the vehicle, while he was not there.

They were believed to be on their way to meet an advocate to seek legal assistance for Nasar.

One survicor said some passengers managed to jump off and swim to safety when the converted fishing vessel overturned in the waterway near the town of Tanur.

But others among the estimated 40 people on board were trapped in the boat, officials said. The dead included 11 people from one family, Manorama News channel reported, though there was no confirmation of that from officials.

Rescuers called off a search on Monday when the last missing passenger, an eight-year-old boy, turned up alive in Calicut hospital, B. Sandhya, the chief of Kerala’s fire and rescue services, told reporters.

Police said they were searching for the owner of the boat and a case of homicide had been registered against him.

The vessel had listed badly soon after it set off, a survivor identified only as Shafeeq told Manorama.

“Most of the people on the upper deck jumped into the river and swam to safety,” he said.

According to initial estimates there were about 40 people, most believed to be domestic tourists, on board including several children, Tanur police official Jeevan George said.

Earlier in the day Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who arrived at Tanur announced a judicial probe and asked for the formation of a special team to conduct the probe.

Meanwhile unconfirmed reports say that the boat did not have proper registration documents and fitness certification.

The boat pilot and his assistant managed to escape soon after the boat capsized and the police are also on the lookout for them.