In a tragic incident, a 12 -year-old girl drowned in the Pennar river at Aymanom after a speeding passenger boat rammed the country boat she was travelling on.
The deceased was identified as Anaswara, daughter of Ratheesh-Reshma couple, in Vazhapparambil House, Aymanom.
The accident occurred around 8.30 a.m. on Monday when the deceased, a Class VIII student at a private school near Vechoor, along with her mother and her eight-year-old sister Jiya, was approaching the Koladichira boat jetty in a country boat. The boat was rowed by Mohanan, grandfather of the victim.
The vessel, however, was rammed by a passenger boat, operated by the State Water Transport department. The country boat capsized in the impact of the collision and the trio fell into the water.
While onlookers launched a rescue operation and saved the mother and the younger kid, Anaswara was swept away by the heavy undercurrents and hence could not be rescued. On an alert, a Fire and Rescue Services team rushed to the spot and about four hours later, her body was fished out from a location near the accident site.
Probe ordered
Kottayam District Collector V. Vigneswari ordered a probe into the boat accident. The order, issued under Section 30 of the State Disaster Management Act, entrusted the Revenue Divisional Officer, Kottayam, to conduct a preliminary probe.
The SWTD Director, meanwhile, will be required to carry out a detailed investigation and submit the report within seven days.
While the local people alleged speeding by the passenger boat leading to the mid-water collision, the SWTD has dismissed the allegation, stating that the boat had just resumed its journey from the boat jetty. The department, instead, has sought to reign in the the practice of country boats abruptly entering in-land boat channels and is planning to submit a proposal in this regard to the State government.
