21 Dead as Boat Capsizes Off India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands

A tourist boat capsized off the coast of India's remote Andaman and Nicobar islands on Sunday, leaving 21 people dead, an official and reports said.

The private boat was carrying 43 tourists, believed to be Indians, when it sank between the popular spots of Ross Island and North Bay near Port Blair, the capital of the islands, the Indian government and a local official said.

Some 13 people were pulled from the water following the accident late Sunday afternoon, and were taken to a hospital in Port Blair, with "several of them seriously injured," an official there said.

"The bodies have also been taken to the same hospital," the unnamed official in the control room set up after the accident told Agence France Presse by phone.

Rescue operations were underway with fears for at least another 9 people still missing who may be trapped in the now submerged vessel, according to the Press Trust of India.

The Aqua Marine was carrying a large group of tourists from Kanchipuram in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, the Port Blair official said.

However authorities were canvassing the hotels in Port Blair to confirm all of the tourists who were on board the boat, the official added.

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

The prime minister said he has asked India's national agencies to help in the rescue and relief operation.

A list of the dead and injured was expected to be released soon with relatives urged to contact the control room for information.

The accident occurred some 25 kilometers (miles) off the coast of Port Blair, according to the Hindustan Times newspaper.

An investigation by the judicial district magistrate was underway into the cause of the accident, the official said.

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

Though they are Indian territory, they are at least 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the mainland and are closer to the coast of Myanmar.