Tugboat sinks at sea near Hazira, two missing

Surat: A tugboat sank in sea at Hazira with 10 on board at around 8.30pm on Friday. Eight people were rescued while two persons are still missing. Search operation to trace the missing persons continued even on Saturday but they were yet to be found.
According to fire officials, Gautam Mandal and Suresh Mandal are still missing while the officials fear that they may have been trapped inside the tugboat.
“The depth is around 70ft at the spot and the missing persons probably got trapped inside and could not get out of the sinking boat. Eight others on the vessel could, however, save themselves,” said a Surat fire and emergency services (SFES) official.
SFES was called for search on Saturday morning while the fire teams from industries and ports in Hazira continued searching till early hours on Saturday. “Professional divers can be helpful in such situations,” the official added.
Investigation by the police and local authorities revealed that a rope from a ferry was tied to the tug to keep it steady. This is a regular practice and the rope is removed once the ferry comes in motion.
“As the ferry moved, they failed to remove the rope from the tugboat. Due to the pull, the tugboat lost balance and dangerously tilted on one side. At the same time another vessel was passing by and the waves it had created further pushed the imbalanced tugboat,” a police officer told TOI.
Eight staff members on the tugboat jumped into the sea, while cops suspect that the missing duo were inside the cabin or may have suffered injury due to which they could not come out immediately.