Thiruvananthapuram: A houseboat in Kerala’s backwaters carrying over two dozen tourists abruptly caught fire on Sunday, bringing the focus back on safety measures required for safe running of these vessels. The accident took place at Nedumudi in Alappuzha district. The occupants of the boat were lucky to make a quick escape because the boat had not moved far from the bank.
Reports said there were at least four children and some women among the roughly two dozen passengers on board when the fire broke out. Early reports suggested that the fire may have been caused by a short circuit. Efforts to put out the fire were in vain as the gas cylinders on board also burst into flames.
The accident happened around 4pm, and it was the quick action of people on the bank and crew of other boats nearby that helped save all the passengers and the crew on board the houseboat.
Recently, another houseboat had caught fire in Kainakary in the Alappuzha backwaters, and there was another report about a speedboat bumping into the back of a motor boat in the same area. Following the boat mishap in Thekkady lake in 2009 that claimed over 50 lives, the state government has insisted on a number of safety measures for pleasure boating, but the strictures are sometimes violated.
The mishap at Nedumudi on Sunday comes even as a new tourism season is beginning in Kerala. In recent times, the houseboat tourism segment has been betting on upmarket domestic tourists following the slowdown in Europe and other western nations. The dispute over remuneration for houseboat workers had also cast a shadow over the houseboat tourism segment recently. However, houseboat operators have evinced optimism about a positive trend in the forthcoming tourist season.
