Minor driver blamed for Udaipur boat mishap
ALLEGATION Owner of the speed boat, from which the 3yearold fell, says that the other boat driver was a minor without a licence
The owner of the sixseater speed boat, which collided with a 20-seater one in Udaipur’s Fateh Sagar lake, said on Tuesday that the accident happened because the driver of the other boat was a minor and did not have a licence.
In the Monday evening accident, a three-year-old girl fell into the lake.
Rescue operations by the police and private divers to find the girl proved unsuccessful till late on Tuesday evening.
Ashraf Khan, the contractor of the 6-seater boat, said his driver was professionally trained and licensed to drive the speed boat; the other boat was driven by a minor boy who did not have a licence.
“In addition, their boat stopped in the middle of the lake as its engine went off. Our driver thought that the other boat would cross by the time his boat would reach but it did not, and the mishap occurred,” Khan said.
Mohsin, the driver of the 6-seater, has been arrested for negligent driving; other victims were rescued and rushed to MB hospital, an official at the Ambamata police station told Hindustan Times.
The incident, police said, occurred on Monday evening when Vidyadhar Saini, a chartered accountant from Jaipur, was riding the 6-seater boat with his family and neighbours, and their driver lost control of the boat and rammed into the 20-seater boat that was carrying 11 passengers.
When the collision took place, Saini, his daughter Chahak, his neighbour, and the neighbour’s seven-year-old son fell into the lake. Everybody was wearing life-jackets, but the one worn by the three-year-old girl proved too big for her; it came off when she fell into the water. Without the life-jacket, Chahak disappeared in the lake.
The victims told police that the driver of the boat was driving at a high speed and despite being asked to slow down, he continued with the pace.
The families of Saini and his neighbour had come to Udaipur on Sunday for a vacation.