16 Indians among 30 feared dead in boat capsize off Qatar

by Amitjha | July 1, 2009 at 05:22 am

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In an tragic incident 16 Indian died off the coast of Quatar while a vassel ferrying them to the oil rig capsized.Sources say that 30 people died in this incident.Rescue mission is on and search of bodies will take some time.

Sixteen Indians are among 30 people feared dead after their vessel capsized off the coast of quatar during a ferry to an oil rig.

Five people, including three Indians, have been rescued after the boat 'Damas Victory' sank about two nautical miles off Doha at around 6.30 AM local time on Tuesday, officials of Indian embassy in Qatar said over phone.

The vessel, belonging to Dubai-based Demas Marine and hired by Qatar firm HBK Power Cleaning, had 35 people, including 19 Indians, on board when it sank during a supply ferry to an oil rig, they said.
So far seven bodies have been recovered by Qatar Coast Guard but it is not immediately clear whether any Indian was among them, the officials said.
"Rescue operations are underway and five people, including three Indians, have been saved. There is no hope of any more survivors," an official said.
The rescued Indians have been identified as Balakrishnan Velayudhan, Jaison Verghese and Prabhu Chellam.
A spokesman for HBK said the "work vessel" was used by his company to provide "support services" to the petroleum industry.
The embassy is in touch with Qatar Coast Guard with regard to the rescue operations.