A holdup in the loading of freight onto a vessel at Mumbai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Port might have saved the lives of numerous passengers aboard the doomed tourist ferry that went down on December 20. Because of this delay, Captain Anmol Shrivastava, a ship pilot, arrived at the scene shortly after the incident, rescuing 56 individuals with his boat that could only hold 12.
On December 20, the ferry Neel Kamal, en route to Elephanta Island from the Gateway of India, capsized after an Indian Navy speedboat lost control and collided with it. The ferry, transporting more than 100 passengers, sank in a matter of minutes, resulting in 14 fatalities. The toll would have been greater if not for Captain Shrivastava’s courageous actions.
Captain Shrivastava’s courageous act
Captain Shrivastava, tasked with directing large cargo vessels in and out of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port, was on duty Wednesday. He was scheduled to accompany a cargo ship at 1:45 pm, but it was delayed by an hour because loading the cargo took longer than expected. While he was heading back to the harbor after guiding the ship, he got an SOS message on the radio regarding the sinking ferry.
“We realised we could reach the location within five minutes and immediately headed there at full speed,” recalled Srivastava.
Upon arriving at the location, Captain Shrivastava discovered that the ferry was nearly entirely underwater, with passengers, including kids, clinging frantically to the remaining sections of the ship. Certain parents were observed lifting their babies above the water, battling to ensure their safety.
Without further delay, Srivastava and his team jumped into action, deploying lifebuoys, life vests, and metal ladders to rescue survivors onto their vessel. Individuals were in disbelief and frantic. “Everyone was eager to enter, but we mainly took the children first, followed by elderly women, and then the men,” he stated.
Although his boat could only hold 12 individuals, Captain Shrivastava used his maritime expertise to gauge the buoyancy and successfully rescued 57 survivors. Included in the rescues was a seven-year-old boy, who unfortunately did not make it despite the attempts of Shrivastava and German tourists performing CPR.
The disaster resulted in 14 fatalities, with one individual remaining unaccounted for. Recalling the bold rescue mission, Shrivastava stated, “As a sailor, I have been trained to adhere to the guidelines of SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea). It was fate that brought us close to the location of the incident.”
