Cargo ship capsize: Father of missing crew member urges state, Centre to look for son
Times of India | 31 August 2024
12 Kolkata: Father of 31-year-old Rahul Roy, a cabin crew member of the ill-fated cargo ship ITT Puma that sank near Sagar Island four days back, has urged both the state and the Centre to take immediate steps to locate his son, who remains unaccounted for following the disaster.
While 11 of the 14 crew members were rescued after the Indian Coast Guard launched a coordinated sea-air search and rescue operation, Rahul — a resident of Barasat’s Hridaypur Shantinagar area — is still missing along with the vessel’s captain and another crew member.
Subodh Roy, a senior officer at the National Insurance Company and Rahul’s father, said the family learnt about the accident around 10.30 pm on August 26 — while Janmashtami celebrations were underway at his house — through a phone call from the shipping authority.
Rahul, who was supposed to get married in Feb next year, was on his third voyage after joining ITT Shipping Private Limited company. He was supposed to return home in Dec, the father said.
Roy, accompanied by his relatives, met some of his son’s colleague at the company’s Kolkata office and learnt about how things unfolded on the dreadful night.
“When the ship was 90 nautical miles away from the Haldia Port in the Bay of Bengal, due to a depression, it was breached by the rough sea. Sensing the danger, the crew members donned life jackets and began to evacuate the sinking ship, one by one, jumping onto small lifeboats. Rahul had helped some of them to board the life-rafts. But, when his turn came, he and two others lost balance and fell into the sea,” the father narrated. However, the family is still hopeful of Rahul’s return.