Mumbai: Boat to Shivaji sea memorial site capsizes off Colaba, 1 dead

MUMBAI: Tragedy and deep embarrassment for the Maharashtra government marked the day work on the proposed Shivaji sea memorial was to begin. A boat carrying about 25 people to the site capsized midway, near Prongs Reef off the tip of Colaba, killing a 35-year-old Shivaji devotee and chartered accountant.

The state government, at the instance of Vinayak Mete, the chairman of the steering committee overseeing the memorial project, had organized a bhoomipujan ceremony at the proposed site, which is a rock outcrop 2.4km off Marine Drive. About 250 people, including senior bureaucrats like chief secretary DK Jain, the chief minister's personal secretary Bhushan Gagrani, and secretary of the public works department (PWD; executing the memorial project) Manoj Saunik, other state government officials, politicians, journalists and dozens of Mete's supporters set sail between 3.30pm and 3.45pm from the Gateway of India on four boats-two speedboats and two big passenger boats.

Around 4pm, the speedboat with Mete's supporters, mainly Shivaji devotees, hit a rock. As water started rushing into the damaged vessel, panic ensued. Most of the boat's occupants jumped aboard, and then held on to side railings. Rescue boats arrived within 20 minutes and started pulling them to safety. One person was declared missing after some time. This was Siddhesh Pawar (35), a Santacruz resident who got married just five months ago. After a search of over three and a half hours, his body was fished out around 8pm.