Bengaluru (PTI): The Crew of an Iraqi cargo vessel were denied permission to disembark at Karwar port in Karnataka by the coastal security authorities as per special instructions given by the central government "after the Pakistan incident", Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said on Friday.
According to a senior port official, permission was not given for the crew of an Iraqi cargo vessel to disembark at Karwar port due to the presence of Pakistan and Syrian nationals among them. They were repatriated, he said on Wednesday.
Reacting to this development, Parameshwara told reporters here, "After this Pakistan incident, special instructions have been given by the Government of India to all the armed forces and the state departments. So, we as a state, have a coastal survey force.... they have stopped (the crew of an Iraqi cargo vessel from disembarking at Karwar port). Naturally, every vessel will be scrutinised before letting it into our water. So they have done a good job. I think whatever the instructions have been given to them, they have done a good job," he told reporters here.
According to senior port officials, the ship, which had departed from Al Zubair, Iraq, was carrying bitumen and docked at Karwar with a crew comprising 15 Indian nationals, one Pakistani, and two Syrians.
Following standard inspection protocols and heightened vigilance, the presence of Pakistani and Syrian nationals aboard the vessel prompted a security response from port authorities and the Coastal Security Police, he said.
Their mobile phones were confiscated through the ship's captain to restrict communication, and they remained confined on board for two days while the cargo was unloaded.
The vessel has since left Indian waters with the individuals on board, as per directives, the port official had said.
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Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) (PTI): Ten people were killed when a van collided head-on with a truck on the Sisaiya-Lakhimpur national highway on Monday, police said.
The van was going to Sisaiya from Lakhimpur when the accident took place between Unchgaon and Bharehta villages.
Circle Officer of Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh, said all nine passengers travelling in the van and the driver were killed.
District Magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri Anjani Kumar Singh told reporters that the van collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction, leading to nine casualties on the spot, while one succumbed to injuries at the district hospital.
Circle Officer, Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh told PTI, "Efforts are on to establish the identity of other deceased persons."
The seven of the deceased have been identified as Jaideep Singh (25), Pawan (23), Sohan (21), Ram Goyal (42), Sahajram (35), Pappu (18), all residents of Bahraich district and Adnan Khan (15), a resident of Lakhimpur Kheri district, police said.
Condoling the loss of lives in the accident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a post on X, said, "The loss of life in the unfortunate road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply distressing and heart-wrenching. My condolences are with the bereaved families."
"I have directed the local administration to provide prompt and adequate assistance to the injured and the victims. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant the departed souls a place at His divine feet and to bestow a speedy recovery upon the injured," Adityanath said on X.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak too condoled the loss of lives in the accident.
"The loss of lives resulting from the road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply tragic and heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences go out to the bereaved families," Maurya said.
