Tag Archives: tragedy

Finance

Boat tragedy off Mumbai coast claims 13 lives; Maharashtra Minister promises action

 At least 13 people, including a naval officer, died when a speeding Indian Navy boat, which was undergoing engine trials, lost control and collided with a passenger ferry off the Mumbai coast on Wednesday, the Indian Navy said.

Indian Navy boat collides with ferry boat near Mumbai. Photo courtesy: Videograb from X

In the statement, the Navy said 13 people, including a naval officer and two people from the original equipment manufacturer, were killed in the accident.

The ferry was carrying passengers from Gateway of India to Elephanta Island, a popular tourist destination because of the rock cut cave temples famously known as the Elephanta Caves.

A video of the accident was captured on camera which shows the navy craft, carrying five people, speeding towards the ferry boat after losing control.

Ten ferry passengers were killed, while the remaining 102, including the two survivors from the navy craft, were rescued.

A day after the tragedy, Maharashtra Minister Uday Samant said action will be taken after a probe into the incident.

“Inquiry will be done in the whole matter and action will be taken accordingly. If there is some technical error then it is okay but if someone was driving a speedboat just for enjoyment then action should be taken against them,” Uday Samant told ANI.

Detailing the incident, the Indian Navy in a statement said: “At about 1600 hours (4 pm), a navy craft undergoing engine trials lost control and collided with a passenger ferry, Neel Kamal, off Karanja, Mumbai. The ferry was carrying passengers from Gateway of India to Elephanta Island.”

The Navy in coordination with the Coast Guard and Marine Police launched an immediate search and rescue operation.

 “Four naval helicopters, 11 naval craft, one Coast Guard boat and three Marine Police boats are undertaking rescue efforts. The survivors picked up by Navy and civil craft in the area have been transferred to jetties and hospitals in the vicinity. So far 99 survivors have been rescued,” it said.

The video of the speedboat colliding with the ferry surfaced over two hours after the accident happened.

Earlier, it was reported the ferry started sinking. However, the cause was not known.

The boat had sailed from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island, off the Mumbai coast.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the deaths and announced some immediate compensation.

In a post on X, the Prime Minister’s office said: “The boat mishap in Mumbai is saddening. Condolences to the bereaved families. I pray that the injured recover soon. Those affected are being assisted by the authorities: PM @narendramodi.”

“The Prime Minister has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF for the next of kin of each deceased in the boat mishap in Mumbai. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000.”

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he was “deeply saddened by the loss of precious lives in the collision between passenger ferry and the Indian Navy craft in Mumbai harbour…”

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 5 lakh from the CM’s Relief Fund to the families of those who died in the accident.

More visuals show people wearing life jackets being rescued and shifted to another boat, while the vessel began tilting towards the water surface.

The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard carried out the rescue operation, with 11 navy boats, three boats of the Marine Police, and a boat of the Coast Guard deployed in the area, a defence official said.

Finance

Indian-origin techie father, daughter die in train tragedy in Sydney

Indian-origin techie dies in train mishap in Sydney
Indian-origin techie Anand Runwal and his wife Poonam. Photo Courtesy: Anand Runwal Facebook page

A 40-year-old Indian-origin man died when he tried to save his twin daughters after their pram rolled down onto the railway track in Sydney city of Australia. The tragic incident took place at the Carlton train station in the country.

According to reports, a train hit and killed one of the twins and the father, who was identified as Anand Runwal, an IT professional.

The other twin escaped with minor injuries. The family — Anand Runwal, his wife Poonam Runwal, and their twin daughters — had moved to Australia in October 2023 after Anand secured a job with Infosys as an IT service provider at Westpac, a financial services company in Sydney, reported India Today.

NSW Police Superintendent Paul Dunstan told 9 News it appeared the parents’ hands came off the pram for “a short second” after they got out of the lift on the platform.

Dunstan said the father jumped onto the tracks to try to save his children in an “incredibly brave and heroic act”.

A bystander, who was identified as Lauren Langelaar, told the news channel: “The father has jumped down to try and grab the children and the pram and as he’s gone to lift it up onto the platform the train has just come.”

A Facebook page named Indians in Sydney posted: “The girls’ father, Anand Runwal, 40, and his two-year-old daughter jumped onto the tracks and tried to save his daughters, as bystanders tried to alert the train, but it was too late.”

Finance

Parents of Indian Army Captain who died in Siachen fire tragedy want revision of next of kin policy after his wife gets most entitlements

Captain Anshuman Singh's wife Smriti Singh and mother Manju Singh recently received the posthumous Kirti Chakra from President Droupadi Murmu
Captain Anshuman Singh’s wife Smriti Singh and mother Manju Singh recently received the posthumous Kirti Chakra from Indian President Droupadi Murmu. Photo Courtesy: PIB

Parents of Captain Anshuman Singh, who died in a fire incident in Siachen in July 2023, have asked the government to consider changes in the Indian Army’s ‘next of kin’ (NOK) policy. As per the policy, financial assistance is provided to the family members in case of an Army personnel’s death.

According to reports, after a cadet or officer joins the Indian Army, his parents or guardians’ names are then recorded in the NOK but after the cadet or officer gets married, under Army rules, the name of the person’s spouse is recorded as the person’s next of kin instead of the parents.

Singh received the posthumous Kirti Chakra, the country’s second-highest peacetime gallantry award.

Indian Army Captain Anshuman Singh died last year in a fire tragedy in Siachen Photo Courtesy: TANISHK SENGAR X page

Singh’s parents Ravi Pratap Singh and Manju Singh said their daughter-in-law has left their home and received most of the entitlements following the death of their son.

Ravi Pratap Singh said the only thing he has is the photo of their son.

“The criteria of the NOK is not correct. It should be changed. I have spoken to Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over the issue,” he told TV9 Bharatvarsh.

“In our case, our daughter-in-law does not stay with us anymore. The marriage lasted for five months and they did not have a child. We only have a photo of our son which is hanging on the wall. We have nothing else,” he said.

The deceased soldier’s wife Smriti Singh and mother Manju Singh recently received the posthumous Kirti Chakra from President Droupadi Murmu.

Ravi Pratap Singh said Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has said he will raise the issue with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

“I don’t want parents to suffer like us in future,” Manju Singh told the news channel.

Captain Anshuman Singh was posted with the 26 Punjab as a medical officer in the Siachen Glacier area.

He died in a fire tragedy in Siachen last year.

Edutech & Education

Author Susan M. Gerhart’s New Book Tragedy to Triumph

Author Susan M. Gerhart’s New Book Tragedy to Triumph

San Antonio, TX, March 06, 2024 –Susan M. Gerhart, a retired mom and grandmother, has accomplished her new guide, “Tragedy to Triumph: The True Story of Four Generations of Women Whose Lives of Tragedy Were Turned into Triumph by the Power of God’s Love”: a riveting and inspirational memoir that may contact the hearts of all those that enterprise into the lives of those 4 generations of ladies.

Despite the generations of tragedies, writer Susan M. Gerhart’s life has fully modified, and she or he now not lives below the cloud of despair. Her personal hope and happiness have been reborn via the religion and prayers of these round her. All the tragic occasions of her life and the generations earlier than her have given her a larger energy and endurance for a way forward for happiness and peace it doesn’t matter what comes her method. She got here via all the range a stronger, extra compassionate particular person, prepared to embrace those that undergo—an instance that provides others hope for his or her future. She believes God wishes to stroll with all of his youngsters, via all their trials and tribulations, to deliver therapeutic and inside peace and an finish to the cycle of despair.

Gerhart shares, “Despite the disappointments in my life, there have been many blessings. I really consider the chains of bondage skilled by 4 generations of ladies have been damaged. My youngsters and all future generations are free to stay the life God created them to stay. Free to search him with all their hearts and be guided by his spirit.

“God gives that to all of us. We simply want to invite him into our hearts and hold his commandments. Then he’ll present us the trail to true freedom and happiness.

“So my query for all of you is that this: what’s going to your legacy be? What will your loved ones’s legacy be? One of ache and disgrace or certainly one of peace, happiness, and love? I hope you select the latter. I hope you selected Christ.”