Tourist boat capsizes in southern India, at least 22 dead

May 08, 02:48 AM May 08, 02:48 AM

NEW DELHI (WHD) — A double-decker boat carrying more than 30 passengers capsized Sunday night off a beach in southern India, and more than 22 people including children died, officials said.

Police officer Abdul Nazar said the rescue teams were expecting to recover more bodies from inside the boat after pulling it ashore from the muddy waters. He said India’s National Disaster Response Force and the Indian Coast Guard personnel were engaged in rescue work and trying find those who were still missing.

WHY SO MANY MASS KILLINGS? FAMILIES, EXPERTS SEEK ANSWERS

The tourist boat capsized near the estuary of Poorappuzha River in Tanur, a coastal town in Kerala state’s Malappuram district, and most of the passengers were tourists. Nazar said authorities were investigating the cause of the accident and it appeared the boat capsized due to overcrowding.

The dead included children who had come for a ride on the boat during their school vacation, Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman told the Press Trust of India news agency, adding that four people in critical condition were admitted to a hospital.

The state's chief minister, who will visit the area Monday, tweeted his condolences to the victims' families and urged the district's authorities to oversee the rescue.

Monday has been declared a day of official mourning, PTI reported, quoting a government statement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “pained by the loss of lives” and announced compensation to the victims' families in a tweet.

Boating accidents are common in India, where many vessels are overcrowded and have inadequate safety equipment.

In September 2020, 12 people drowned when a sightseeing boat capsized on the swollen Godavari River in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. In May 2018, 30 people died when a boat capsized in the same region.

Norway places down beloved walrus Freya, destroyer of boats

August 14, 02:02 PM August 14, 02:02 PM

BERLIN — Authorities in Norway have euthanized a walrus that experienced drawn crowds of spectators in the Oslo Fjord immediately after concluding that it posed a chance to human beings.

The 600-kilogram (1,320-pound) woman walrus, identified affectionately as Freya, grew to become a common attraction in Norway in new weeks, even with warnings from officers that men and women need to chorus from getting close and posing for pics with the enormous marine mammal. Freya appreciated to clamber on little boats, leading to damage to them.

Walruses are guarded, and as not too long ago as very last month, officials explained they hoped Freya would go away of her own accord and that euthanasia would be a past resort.

Norway's Directorate of Fisheries explained Freya was put down early Sunday "centered on an in general evaluation of the ongoing menace to human safety."

"Via on-web site observations the previous week, it was produced obvious that the community has disregarded the current recommendation to maintain a crystal clear distance to the walrus," it claimed. "Therefore, the Directorate has concluded, the risk for likely hurt to persons was high and animal welfare was not getting maintained."

The head of the directorate, Frank Bakke-Jensen, stated other alternatives, like shifting the animal in other places, had been regarded. But authorities concluded it was not a viable alternative.

"We have sympathies for the simple fact that the determination can cause a response from the general public, but I am organization that this was the correct call," Bakke-Jensen stated. "We have terrific regard for animal welfare, but human daily life and protection have to just take priority."

Atlantic walruses typically dwell in the Arctic. It is unconventional but not unheard of for them to vacation into the North and Baltic Seas. One more walrus, nicknamed Wally, was noticed very last 12 months on beach locations and even a lifeboat dock in Wales and elsewhere.