Associated Press
TUTICORIN, India — A government official says at least nine Indian tourists drowned as a fishing boat sank during a joyride in the Bay of Bengal in southern India.
Government administrator M. Ravi Kumar says the accident occurred on Sunday in high tide and the victims were without any safety equipment such as life jackets.
Kumar said 11 people have been rescued and hospitalized in Tuticorin, a town in Tamil Nadu state.
The accident occurred nearly 65 kilometres (40 miles) south off Tuticorin. Kumar said the fishing boat was hired for a ride in the Coromandel coast.
Such accidents are common in India with many overcrowded boats without safety equipment.