One dead, 20 rescued after tourist boat capsizes off Calangute beach in Goa
Panaji, Dec 25: One person died and 20 others were rescued after a tourist boat capsized in the Arabian Sea off Calangute beach in North Goa on Wednesday, police said.
The incident occurred around 1.30 pm, they said.
"A 54-year-old man died and 20 others were rescued and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment after the boat they were travelling in capsized," a senior police official said.
Except for two passengers, all others were wearing life jackets, he said.
The passengers included children as young as six year old and women, he said.
Spokesman of Drishti Marine, a government-appointed lifesaving agency, said the boat capsized around 60 metres away from the coastline, resulting in all the passengers falling off into the sea water.
A family comprising 13 members from Khed in Maharashtra were among the passengers on board, he said.
On seeing the boat getting capsized, a personnel of Drishti Marine rushed to aid and called for backup, he said.
"In all, 18 on-duty lifesavers rushed to the aid of the struggling passengers and brought them to shore safely," he said.
The injured passengers were administered first aid, while those who were found to be critical were rushed to a medical facility in an ambulance, the spokesman said.
"Of the 20 passengers, two children aged six and seven each, and two women aged 25 and 55 each, were revived and hospitalised," he said, adding that two passengers on the boat were not wearing life jackets.
Goa is a popular tourist destination, especially during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
The incident occurred a week after a speeding Navy craft undergoing engine trials lost control and crashed into passenger ferry 'Neel Kamal' off the Mumbai coast, killing 15 persons. The ferry, carrying more than 100 passengers, was on its way from Gateway of India to Elephanta Island, a popular tourist attraction famous for its cave temples.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
