India's Punjab government seeks federal ministry's intervention in Panama boat tragedy

Chief Minister of India's northern state of Punjab Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday sought personal intervention of India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj into the issue of reported drowning of 21 young men in a boat capsize near Panama.

The men believed to be in their 20s from Punjab were being ferried in a boat by unauthorized travelling agents illegally to the United States using sea route from Panama.

In a letter to Swaraj, Badal said New Delhi should make immediate and sincere efforts through the governments of concerned countries and the Indian Missions in Colombia and Panama.

Meanwhile, Indian police have arrested two unauthorised travel agents and are searching the third one.

"The two agents were booked under the Immigration Act," a police official said.

A senior police official Arpit Shukla said a lone survivor in the tragedy Jaswinder Singh alias Sonu had called up his father and informed him about the incident.

According to him the police was yet to identity the victims in the boat capsize.

Police officials said the capsized boat having capacity of 10 people was overloaded with at least 21 people.

The local government in Punjab has set up a control room at the civil secretariat for the families of victims in the tragedy.

The boat is believed to have capsized on Jan. 10, however the information reached family members of two of the victims after several days, reports said. Endit