Tanur: The recreational boat service that started to boost the tourism potential of Thooval Theeram here during Eid al-Fitr took a disastrous sail on Sunday evening resulting in the death of at least 22 people, including several children. 

The boat was owned by Nasser, a resident of Tanur.

It should be noted that most of the passengers were locals who engaged in fishing activities and were good swimmers.

However things took an ugly turn as the overloaded boat capsized in the estuary.

“The death toll could have been brought down considerably had there been enough life jackets in the boat,” say locals.

Relatives of the deceased and the residents of Tanur warned the boat owner of grave consequences for his irresponsible act.

11 members of a family drowned in the water in the incident that shocked the nation.

Lack of light made rescue operations difficult. Ambulances could reach the accident spot only after breaking a few compound walls of the houses in the densely populated area.