13 die as boat capsizes

CHENNAI - Thirteen people drowned when their boat capsized in the sea off the Periapattinam village coast in Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram district Sunday, police said.

“The accident took place around 8.30 a.m. The private boat left the shore around 7.30 a.m. It carried around 30 persons and was overloaded,” a police official told IANS.

The occupants were mostly Non-Resident Indians living in the Gulf.

The official said the 13 victims included seven women, four girls and two boys. Five people were rescued and a search was on for the others.

According to police, more than 50 people took two boats to nearby islands. While the women and children were in one boat, the men were in the other boat.

According to officials, the boat carrying women and children capsized. It was owned by two local men.