Ramdas Sinking Mumbai – #OTD 17 July 1947 - 690 Souls Lost #maritimehistory

Ramdas – On 17 July 1947 the ship capsized 10 miles (16 km) off Mumbai, killing 625 people aboard. The wreck became known only as survivors swam ashore.

Ramdas was a coastal passenger ferry owned by the Indian Cooperative Steam Navigation Company. On 17 July 1947, at around 8:05 a.m., while en route from Bombay to Rewas, she was caught in huge monsoonwaves. While she was passing the island of Kashyacha Khadak, one of the waves caught her on the starboard side, resulting in the passengers rushing to the port side and causing her to capsize.

The port authorities knew of the tragedy only when a few of the survivors swam to safety and reached the Sassoon Docks and broke the news at 3:00 p.m. Some of the survivors swam across and reached the northern coast of Raigad near Rewas. Some people were rescued by fishermen from Rewas.

Of the 713 passengers on board, 690 died. Most passengers were from the Girgaum and Parel areas. They were mostly workers from Pen, Roha, and Alibag. Survivors included the ship's captain, Sheikh Suleman Ibrahim, who later provided the facts of the incident.

The wreck of Ramdas resurfaced on its own at Ballard Pier off the Indian coast at Bombay in 1957

More Here: Wikipedia