Panama boat tragedy: Sukhbir urges Sushma to send team to US

Punjab government today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to immediately dispatch a team to the US to assist the victims of Panama boat tragedy in which 25 youths from the state are feared drowned.
"Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today had a telephonic conversation with the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who assured that the government would reach out to the victims immediately," an official spokesperson said here.
Badal said the Punjab Government is also sending a team of senior officials to US to trace out the survivors of the tragedy.
Meanwhile, referring to the report that as many as 25 youths from Punjab were feared dead as the boat in which they were travelling capsized near Panama, Badal said it is "alarming".

The youths were reportedly headed to the US illegally in a boat when it capsized.
The incident happened on January 10 and the parents of the youths got to know about it on January 12-13, he said.

He said the incident took place at sea between the Colombian port city of Turbo and neighbouring South American country Panama.
Meanwhile, the Deputy CM has directed the Director General of Police and SSP Kapurthala to take action against travel agents involved in human trafficking.
Kapurthala Police has registered a case under Sections 420 (cheating) and 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and various sections of the Immigration Act against the travel agents.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal expressed grief over the boat tragedy.
He said the state government was at the beck and call of the distressed families in the hour of crisis.
"I am deeply anguished to learn about the ill-fated boat tragedy, which claimed the lives of our sons of soil and pray to Almighty for giving courage and solace to the bereaved families to bear this inconsolable loss," he said.
He also asked the State Chief Secretary to provide the latest information with regard to this tragic incident to their family members.
As per the directions of Badal, the Chief Secretary had set up a 24X7 Control Room here at Punjab Civil Secretariat to keep the families of victims updated about the latest information available with them.

Any kin of the victims of the unfortunate boat tragedy could seek information from the officials on duty in the control room, he said.
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Meanwhile, the police have arrested two travel agents from Jalandhar in connection with the Panama boat tragedy in which 25 youths from the state are feared drowned.
Officials identified the two agents as Harbhajan Singh alias Suchcha and Kulvindar Singh alias Multani. Both of them hail from Bhogpur area in Jalandhar district, they said.
Police said that they are interrogating the two agents and are trying to find out the details about the incident.