21 DEAD AFTER BOAT CAPSIZES IN KERALA'S MALAPPURAM, SEARCH OPS UNDERWAY

On Sunday night, a tourist boat near overturned near Tanur coast at Kerala's Malapurram district.It is reported that 22 people have died due to this incident.

      While talking to ANI, Regional Fire Range Officer Shiju KK said, "So far, we have recovered 21 dead bodies. We don't know the exact number of people on the boat, so we are continuing the search to find out whether there are more victims trapped in the mud or not."

     This incident took place at around 7 pm on Sunday evening in the Tanur area of the district but the cause of this incident is, however, not known as of now. Those rescued have been admitted to private and government hospitals nearby.

    It is expected that more people are trapped and Fire services personnel, officials from revenue and health departments, voluntary workers, and locals are also involved in the rescue operations.

      Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for families of those dead. The Prime Minister tweeted: “Pained by the loss of lives due to the boat mishap in Malappuram, Kerala. Condolences to the bereaved families. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be provided to the next of kin of each deceased".

     On the other hand, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan instructed Malappuram District Administration to carry out a coordinated emergency rescue operation.