CHENNAI: A Christmas outing turned tragic when 20 members of a family drowned in Pulicat lake in Tiruvallur district about 60km from Chennai as the boat they had hired for a pleasure trip capsized due to strong winds at the mouth of the sea on Sunday. The boatman’s wife, who was accompanying the tourists, also died. The boatman Hansur (30) survived and surrendered at Thirupalayvanam police station.Three members of the family — all aged between 10 and 13 — had a miraculous escape as they held on to an iron rod sticking out of the boat till fishermen sailing by rescued them. The other passengers met their end as the boat was turned over by strong waves and winds.Among the deceased were Sundarapandian (68), a hotelier from Gummidipoondi, his wife, their four sons Jabadurai (45), Thangaraj (33), Kanakaraj (35) and Asirvadam (38), and daughter Bhagyamani (40).At the time of filing, 12 bodies that had washed ashore were recovered and six had been identified. According to the police, the family of 23 had been accommodated on the boat that had a carrying capacity of only 15. With the boatman Hansar (30) and his wife Naseera Bano (20) also on board, the total number of passengers was 25.Apart from being overloaded, the boat reportedly breached a forbidden line and ventured close to where the calm backwaters meet the tumultuous sea. Fishermen in the locality said that the boat could have spun out of control and capsized due to a strong breeze, although the sea was not very rough.Police said the family arrived at Pulicat around 11.30 am and after lunch hired the boat at 2 pm for a trip on the scenic backwaters. Kumar, a local fisherman, said fisherfolk abstained from venturing close to the sea with tourists. “We usually stop short of the mouth of the sea by at least half a kilometre and take the tourists to the island near the mouth. But this boat seems to have... entered the sea. The waves and the strong breeze could have overturned it.”
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