The body of a seven-year-old boy, who had been missing since the tourist ferry-Indian Navy boat crash off the Mumbai coast on December 18, was found on Saturday morning, taking the death toll to 15.

Naval boats found the body of Johan Mohammad Nisar Ahmed Pathan in the Mumbai harbour area after three days of search operation. The boy’s mother had died in
the accident.

Sources in the navy said the search operation will continue till the ferry boat is made upright and it is confirmed that there is no unaccounted body left.

The ferry, with more than 100 passengers, was on its way from the Gateway of India to Elephanta Island, a popular tourist attraction which has a collection of ancient caves off the Mumbai coast.

The tragedy struck when the speeding navy craft undergoing engine trials lost control and collided with the ferry, Neel Kamal.

The accident-affected craft is in the custody of the navy and police will demand it whenever needed for investigation, sources said. The navy has also launched an internal inquiry into the incident. Of the 114 people on board both the vessels, 15 died and 99 were rescued.

There were six persons on board the navy craft, of which two survived.

According to the documents issued by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), the tourist ferry had permission to carry 84 passengers and six crew members, but it was overloaded.

The MMB, which is conducting an investigation into the accident, has cancelled the licence of the ferry as the vessel was overloaded, thus violating the Inland Vessel Act.

A case has been registered against the navy craft driver at the Colaba police station. Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections invoked in the FIR included those related to causing death by negligence, actions that endanger the personal safety or life of others, rash or negligent navigation of a vessel and acts of mischief that cause wrongful loss or damage to individuals or the public.