Pregnant woman dies as 2 boats capsize in Pulicat

According to Ponneri police, ten persons belonging to two families from belonging to Kasimedu area had gone sightseeing to the Pulicat lake on Sunday and were offered a joy ride in two fishing boats. The tourists accompanied by three local men, who operated the boats, went into a restricted area of the backwaters when the mishap took place.

“The two boats collided with each other throwing all the ten tourists in the water. While a pregnant woman identified as Mary (37) died on the spot, nine others sustained injuries and had to be rescued,” a police officer said.

Locals immediately rushed to the mishap site and brought all the injured persons to the shore. They were then taken to the Ponneri Government Hospital for further treatment,while Mary’s body was sent for a post-mortem examination.

Police said that the area where the two boats had ventured into was a restricted zone, where fishing boats were not allowed to take tourists for joy rides. “It is a serious violation and we will book cases against those who took the unsuspecting tourists on a joy ride,” the officer said. The Ponneri police have registered a case and are investigating the incident.

In December 2011, at least 22 persons belonging to a family drowned and died in the Pulicat lake after the boat in which they went capsized resulting in all the passengers drowning. Following the incident, the State government had taken up several measures to end joy rides in the Pulicat and have even taken punitive action in the past against fishermen who offered such illegal rides.

“However, Sunday’s incident shows that this continues unabated despite the restrictions laid down. We will investigate in detail and ensure that no fishermen offer tourists a joyride in this area,” the officer added.