The Thattekkad boat disaster occurred on 20 February 2007, when a tourist boat sank in Thattekkad near Bhoothathankettu on Ernakulam-Idukki district border.[1] 15 students, 2 teachers and 1 employee of a private school in Ankamaly, who went on an excursion died in the accident.[2]
Date | 20 February 2007 |
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Time | 6:30 pm (IST, UTC+05:30) |
Location | Thattekkad, Kerala, India |
Type | boat capsizing |
Participants | 37 |
Deaths | 18 |
Details
editThe excursion group boarded on three boats from Bhoothathankettu area, twenty kilometers away from Kothamangalam. The boat that sank was returning from a visit to the nearby Thattekad bird sanctuary. The accident happened on 20 February 2007 at 6:30 pm local time at Ovunkal jetty in Periyar, one kilometer away from Thattekad bird sanctuary.[3] 37 people were traveling in the boat. According to preliminary conclusions, the bottom of the boat in which the excursion group was traveling was shaken and the water entered the cause of the accident. But the then DGP Raman Srivastava, who held a press conference the day after the incident, said that the accident happened because the boat overturned. After the accident, it was clear that the boat involved in the accident was not licensed.[4]
Aftermath
editFollowing the incident, justice M.M. Pareed Pillay filed a report in which he proposed comprehensive legislation addressing inland transportation and made around 86 recommendations, including making swimming an extracurricular subject.[5] The owner and driver of the boat P. M. Raju was charged with involuntary manslaughter and immature and careless boating. He was sentenced to five years in jail and 1 lakh rupees were fined. Later in 2021, the imprisonment was reduced to two years.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Thomas, Jaisy (8 May 2023). "പല്ലന, കുമരകം, തട്ടേക്കാട്, തേക്കടി...ഇപ്പോള് താനൂരും; കേരളത്തെ കണ്ണീര്ത്തീരമാക്കിയ ദുരന്തങ്ങള്". Media One. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ "Thattekad boat tragedy: HC sets aside driver's five-year sentence - The New Indian Express". www.newindianexpress.com. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ ഡെസ്ക്, വെബ്. "കുമരകം മുതൽ താനൂർ വരെ; 2000ത്തിന് ശേഷം കേരളത്തില് ബോട്ടപകടങ്ങളിൽ മരിച്ചത് 131 പേർ". The Fourth (in Malayalam). Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ mtp (27 February 2021). "തട്ടേക്കാട് ബോട്ടപകടത്തില് ബോട്ടുടമയുടെ ശിക്ഷ രണ്ട് വര്ഷമാക്കി Boat owner sentenced to two years in Thattekkad boat accident". മലയാളം വാർത്ത | Malayalam Breaking News | Latest Gulf News | Qatar News | Kerala News | Gulf Malayaly. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ "നാടിനെ കണ്ണീരിലാഴ്ത്തിയ തട്ടേക്കാട് ബോട്ട് അപകടം നടന്നിട്ട് നാളെ 14 വർഷം". Janayugom Online. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
- ^ Daily, Keralakaumudi. "Thattekkad boat tragedy: High Court reduces imprisonment of boat owner from five years to two years". Keralakaumudi Daily. Retrieved 8 May 2023.