Elephanta boat tragedy: People were scrambling like mad for life jackets, recounts a survivor

Poet Ajay Soni with wife Sulekha, survivors of the ferry accident on Wednesday. Pic/Shadab Khan

I saw people drowning right in front of my eyes. Passengers were snatching life jackets, desperate to save their own lives. I managed to grab one and gave it to my wife, then hurried to the rooftop of the ferry," recalls Ajay Soni, popularly known as Munna Battery, a familiar name in poetry circles. Soni, who had been a participant in India's Laughter Champion, judged by Archana Puran Singh and Shekhar Suman, had come to Mumbai with his wife, Sulekha, who was seeing the sea for the first time.

Everyone was busy clicking photographs when, suddenly, a speedboat rammed into our ferry. There was absolute panic at that moment. But the ferry owner tried to calm everyone, saying there was no major damage and things were under control. Soon, however, passengers spotted the tyres tied to the vessel's sides breaking apart, and the ferry gradually began sinking. With that, our hope of survival started sinking too," Soni added.

Soni used to be a frequent visitor to Mumbai while participating in kavi sammelans. However, this visit was purely to spend quality time with his wife, who had never seen the sea before. "Since the weather in our hometown is extremely cold, we decided to take a break and came to Mumbai, leaving our kids behind. Due to the tight schedule of the event I attended, I could just about manage to bring my wife with me. Unfortunately, this incident left my wife traumatised, and her first impression of the sea has been anything but pleasant." Sulekha Soni, Ajay's wife, shared her distress with mid-day. "I saw women and children falling into the deep sea. I am still terrified," she said.

According to Soni, he had no access to a life jacket and gave the only one he could find to his wife. "Initially, we weren't given life jackets. It was only after the accident that the staff began throwing life jackets at us. I grabbed one and gave it to my wife since she didn't know how to swim, while I had to manage without one. She's still in shock after the incident. As soon as I got hold of a phone, I informed my elder brother about the incident and told him not to inform our mother. It's by God's grace that we hadn't brought our children with us, or they would have gone through a horrendous experience," he added. The Soni couple emphasised that the ferry staff should have provided life jackets to all passengers before boarding.