Vadodara Boat Tragedy: 14 Students Killed; Five Things To Know

In a tragic incident, twelve students and two teachers drowned and died after a boat overturned in Harni lake on the outskirts of Vadodara city in Gujarat on Thursday. The students and teachers belonged to the New Sunrise School and were out on a picnic organised by the school. There were in total 23 students and four teachers on the boat.

Five things to know about the case

A couple lost their children born 17 years after marriage

Among those grieving the loss is a couple who lost two kids born 17 years after their marriage. A relative of the couple said, "They were born after 17 years of marriage of their parents… The parents had offered prayers at various shrines for years before they were blessed with the two children."

The couple lived on Ajwa Road. The two children included a boy of Class II and a girl of Class III. After being pulled out from the lake, the children were sent to a private hospital. Unfortunately, they couldn't be saved. 

The bodies of the kids underwent postmortem

The bodies underwent postmortem examination at SSG Hospital. Mufti Imran, a cleric from Panigate Masjid, said that the family has completed all the formalities and will collect the body tomorrow when the father of the kids arrives from the United Kingdom. 

No life jacket or safety guidelines provided

As per reports, the officials said that the boat was overloaded and no one was provided with life jackets. Moreover, no one was given any run-through on the safety guidelines. The officials also added that cases have been registered against 18 people for their negligence and three people have been detained.

Government's aid for those who are dead 

The state government has announced that it will provide a compensation of rupees four lakhs for the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic incident. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X to express his anguish. He wrote, "The local administration is providing all possible assistance to those affected. An ex-gratia of ₹ 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given ₹ 50,000."

More about the school

The New Sunrise School is owned by Neville Wadia who is known in Vadodra for his love for cricket. He has a Guinness World Record for being the oldest cricketer to score a century. Although, he has not played professional cricket.