5 days ago
1 fisherman dies, 1 missing, 8 rescued in three incidents near Vizhinjam
Thiruvananthapuram
: One person was killed and eight rescued of the 10 fishermen who went missing at sea in three different incidents on Thursday and Friday. A search is going on for one person, said police.
Meanwhile, labour minister V Sivankutty visited the families of the fishermen and promised them all support on Saturday. District collector Anu Kumari and Thiruvananthapuram corporation deputy mayor P K Raju were with the minister.
In the first accident, which took place around 4.30pm on Thursday, a fishing boat with five men on board capsized approximately two nautical miles off Vizhinjam coast. Of the five, Muthappan, Pushpadas and Rajin swam back to shore, while Stellas and Antony went missing.
On Friday morning, Antony's body washed ashore near Poovar Pozhikara, and a search is still on for Stellas.
In the second and third incidents on Friday, two boats —Sahayamatha and Fathimamatha— each with four men on board got stranded in the turbulent sea.
On Saturday morning, the fishermen on Sahayamatha contacted their family members using a mobile phone and shared their location. Indian Coast Guard rescued Robinson, 55, Yesudas, 52, Dasan, 48, and Davidson, 34.
Their boat was also brought to the shore.
Meanwhile, the four fishermen onboard Fathimamatha, Muthappan, 48, Joseph, 45, John, 48, and Mathyas, 50, were rescued by fishermen from Colachel in Tamil Nadu. They are expected to reach Vizhinjam via road early on Sunday morning.
"The boats lost control and drifted waywardly in the strong winds. Meanwhile, their fuel ran out, and one of them contacted family members using a mobile phone. The others were rescued by Tamil Nadu fishermen," said Vizhinjam coastal police.
