8 tourists drown, 17 rescued as boat capsizes off Tamil Nadu coast

Eight tourists drowned while 17 others were rescued after the fishing boat ferrying them capsized off Manappadu near Tuticorin in the Bay of Bengal, a senior official said.

“I do not know how many tourists were travelling in the boat. Eight people have drowned and 17 others have been rescued and hospitalised,” Tuticorin District Collector M Ravi Kumar told PTI.

Those rescued were admitted to private and government hospitals in the district, he said.

Asked about reports that boat was carrying people in excess of its capacity, Kumar said only a detailed probe would throw light on it, as also on the reasons for the capsize.