At least 13 people have been killed after an Indian navy speedboat lost control and slammed into a ferry off the coast of Mumbai.
Videos posted by Indian newspapers showed the open speedboat cruising through the Arabian Sea before it turns sharply and rams the ferry, causing the passenger vessel to capsize.
A large rescue scale operation was immediately launched, with four naval helicopters flying overhead, while 11 naval craft and four coastguard or police boats searched the waters.
According to Maharashtra state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, almost 100 people were saved by the rescue crews.
The Indian Navy confirmed that the speedboat was undergoing tests in the busy seas off the country’s financial capital and an ‘engine malfunction’ had occurred before it collided with the ferry.
‘A Navy craft undergoing engine trials lost control and collided with a passenger ferry,’ India’s navy said in a statement,
It added that it regretted the ‘tragic loss’ of lives.
The ferry was carrying passengers from the Gateway of India – a colonial-era monument on the waterfront that is symbolic of Mumbai – to the popular tourist spot of Elephanta Island, famous for its rock carvings.
A large rescue scale operation was immediately launched, with four naval helicopters flying overhead, while 11 naval craft and four coastguard or police boats searched the waters (pictured: A view of ferries after a boat that capsized off the coast in Mumbai)
Passengers who were rescued after a boat that capsized off the coast in Mumbai
An ambulance waits for the rescued passenger from the boat that capsized off the coast of the Arabian Sea
The 13 dead included one naval servicemember and two representatives of an equipment manufacturer taking part in the tests, the navy said.
Two people seriously injured were taken to the naval hospital.
Mr Fadnavis said: ‘Doctors have declared 13 people dead. I pay my heartfelt tributes to those who died in this accident.’
He added that ‘we share the grief of their families’.
