In the worst tourism tragedy in Kerala, 31 persons died after a state-run double-deck boat carrying 74 tourists suddenly capsized today in the famous Thekkady Lake in Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary in Idukki district.

Three persons were still feared missing after the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation(KTDC) boat pressed into service just one month back sank after cruising five km from the boarding point in Thekkady from where it had set out around 4 PM, a district administration official said.

Forty persons were either rescued or swam to safety, the official said. Thekkady is about 150 km from Kochi.

According to eyewitnesses, the tragedy occurred when the ill-fated boat 'Jalakanyaka' tilted after several tourists moved to one side on sighting elephants in the Wildlife Sanctuary on the banks of the lake. The injured were rushed to nearby hospitals in Periyar.

Officials said tonight bodies of 31 persons were recovered. The victims included 14 women and six children, they said.

The tourists were mainly from outside Kerala mainly coming from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Some victims hailed from Delhi, Punjab and Kolkata. Unconfirmed reports said a male foreigner whose nationality was not immediately known was among the victims.

Rescue efforts were hampered as darkness fell and also due to the cold waters. The boat was half submerged in the mishap.
 
Today's mishap is one of the major boat tragedies in the state after the capsize of a boat carrying school children at Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary in Ernakulam district a few years back. The tragedy claimed 22 lives, most of them primary students.
 
Top police officials said several boats with rescue guards and generators for providing light had been sent to the spot where the boat sank, they said.

Expressing shock over the tragedy, Defence Minister A K Antony said from New Delhi that navy and other forces had been instructed to render all possible help in the rescue work.

No safety measures

No safety measures like life jacket or life guard were in place in the ill-fated boat. Smitha Maurya, who saw the mishap from another boat close by, said there was no life jacket or life guard in the boat.

A tourist from Tamil Nadu, who managed to swim to safety, said the accident took place within half an hour after the cruise began. The boat tilted when most of those on board moved to one side to have a better glimpse of a herd of deer grazing close to the bank. He said the boat sank in the middle of the lake. I dont know how I managed to escape from the capsized boat," he said.
 
Smitha's husband Pankaj Maurya said four to five boats were cruising in the lake at the time of the accident. "We were shocked to see the boat turning to one side and getting submerged. Immediately, we started the rescue operation by throwing air-filled tubes and rope and whatever we could place hands on", he said.

According to them, official rescuers, including police and forest officials, came about 30 minutes after the mishap.

Pankaj Maurya said he informed about the accident to the driver of his vehicle, who was on the shore, over mobile phone, who passed the information to the police.

There were no prior instructions on safety aspects by the boat crew before undertaking the journey. All they had said was that no accident had taken place in the lake in the last 50 years, he said.

Probe Ordered

Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan has ordered an enquiry into the boat tragedy. The Chief Minister told reporters that the revenue department had set up a control room here, as most passengers in the boat were from outside Kerala.

According to officials, Navy helicopters had already reached the spot to carry out further rescue operations.

The control room number is 0471-2333198. The tourism department has also arranged help desks on the following numbers: 0486-9222620/9222111 and 94460 52361, they said.