Boat mishaps claims 21 tourists at Indian islands

NO fewer than 21 people died after a boat carrying tourists capsized on Sunday near India's remote Andaman and Nicobar islands, according to officials and local media reports.

The boat was carrying 43 people when it capsized between Ross Island and North Bay near Port Blair, the capital of the islands, the Indian government said in a statement.

Some 13 people have so far been pulled from the water and a search and rescue operation was underway, the island's Lieutenant Governor A. K. Singh told NDTV.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed shock over the tragedy and "condoled the loss of lives," he said in a statement, without confirming the number of people killed.

The prime minister said he has asked all Indian agencies to help in the rescue and relief operation.

The Andaman and Nicobar islands are Indian territory, though they are at least 600 miles (1,000 kilometres) from the mainland and are closer to the coast of Myanmar.

The Andaman and Nicobar, comprising some 572 islands, are flanked by the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal.