Life jackets, weather, rescue boats? Hard lessons that Bargi Dam cruise tragedy left

With two more bodies recovered on May 3, 13 people are now confirmed dead in the cruise vessel tragedy at Bargi Dam on the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh. Twenty-eight people, including crew members, survived the mid-water mishap and those missing have been accounted for in the toll. The Jabalpur district administration has called off the search operations, but the dreadful incident itself has left many questions wide open.

Thirty-nine passengers were on board when tragedy struck the cruise, operated by the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, on April 30. With the skies overcast and weather seemingly unpredictable, was this an accident waiting to happen? Here’s how the events unfolded.

The cruise left the banks around 5.16 pm for a 45-minute ride. Some 22 minutes on, a storm accompanied by rains and fast winds struck the area. The vessel got tossed around in the worsening weather, forcing passengers on the open deck at the top floor to take shelter in the lower cabin. By then, waves as high as 15 feet starting banging the vessel, and water started entering the engine room.

Mahesh Patel, the vessel’s captain, had tried to turn the cruise back to safety but in vain. “I tried to take the boat to the closest place where I could land it, but the winds were too strong and I failed,” Patel told the media.

The vessel sank approximately 100 metres from the banks. Locals said they had organised resources, including ropes and floating tubes, to rescue people. Some took to the waters to help shift passengers to a rescue boat that had reached the mishap site. Some hours later, teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the army reached and the rescue efforts were taken over by professionals. State public works minister Rakesh Singh and tourism minister Dharmendra Lodhi camped at Bargi Dam during the operations.

What began as a joyride turned upside down the lives of several families. One of the most haunting realities of the accident was the recovery of bodies of a Delhi woman, Marina Massey, and her four-year-old son—the two strapped to the same life jacket and in tight embrace in their final moments. Six members of this family were on the cruise; only three survived. The heartbreaking sight had minister Singh and several others getting emotional.

Chief minister Mohan Yadav visited the accident site and announced that the crew members of the vessel had been terminated from service. The inquiry is being headed by the additional chief secretary (home) and has the inspector general of Home Guard, Jabalpur commissioner and state tourism secretary as members.

While the inquiry promises to fix accountability, experts say various safety protocols can be institutionalised to prevent such avoidable mishaps and deaths. For one, wearing life jackets should be compulsory for anyone taking a cruise.

Footage from the Bargi Dam tragedy has purportedly shown the vessel’s crew quickly unpacking bundles of life jackets for passengers even as water has filled up the floor. Since then, there’s been a debate over whether the cruise even had enough life jackets stocked. That would perhaps be known when the inquiry report emerges, but it is also being claimed that the passengers themselves did not wear life jackets when boarding the vessel.

Second, experts say, just like on flights, passengers should be advised on how to deal with adverse situations mid-water and follow the instructions of the crew, who should be trained. Usually in such situations, panic sets in and people’s reactions are often detrimental to themselves and others.

Third, real-time weather updates available online should be checked and under no circumstance should vessels sail if there has been a weather warning, as was apparently the case on April 30 at the dam.

Fourth, according to experts, the design of vessels could be improved to be able to withstand emergencies in water. Some years ago, a similar cruise sank at the Bargi Dam while it was anchored in the upper lake during a thunderstorm. Luckily, no one was on board. Fifth, all stations where cruise rides are operated should have powerful rescue boats that can traverse choppy waters and reach a capsizing vessel quickly.

And lastly, the government should review safety at all sites where boating is being offered not just by the state tourism department but also private operators. MP Tourism is at least answerable to someone, but private operators have no system or standards to conform to. Tragedies during river crossings and boating rides by private players are common.

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