Kolkata:
One person is still missing in the boat tragedy in the Andaman Islands on Sunday in which 21 people died and 29 were rescued. The owner of the private tourist boat is being questioned and may be arrested as the administration has filed an FIR under Section 304 or culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Three people, boat master Chandrasekhar and crew-members Prabhu and Narottam were arrested on Monday, South Andaman's SP Vinay Biswal said.
The accident occurred at about 4 pm on Sunday when the boat full of tourists was returning to Port Blair from Ross Island.
From what survivors and the Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, V Narayanswamy had to say, it seems there were not enough life jackets on the ill-fated boat.
The islands' Lt Governor AK Singh has ordered a safety audit of all boats plying in the area
"There were no life jackets. No guides were there to save people. These things should be investigated. This was the responsibility of the tourism team," Mr Narayanswamy said on Monday.
"I have ordered a safety audit for all the boats plying in the area," said Lt Governor AK Singh.
That order has, however, come too late for Juhi Ghosh of Kolkata whose body arrived home today. She had gone with her husband for a holiday to the islands. Her father was distraught, saying, "I have lost everything in this cruel world."
Down south in the Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu a holiday trip to the Andamans turned tragic for sixteen people, most of them silk weavers. An elderly man lost his wife, grand-daughter and another relative. His son-in-law is still missing. Four relatives of a hotelier died.
The man who organized the trip lost his son and daughter-in-law.
"They didn't give life jackets. Otherwise at least a few more could have been saved. That's the main reason," said one of the survivors.
The boat sank 200 meters from land. If help had arrived earlier than it did, more lives may have been saved.