Four fishermen reportedly went missing in the sea off Munambam coast near Kochi on Friday. The coastal police reported that the fibre boat in which they were traveling along with three others capsized mid-sea. Despite the tragic incident, three other individuals who were on the same boat managed to hold on to water cans and were rescued by a fishing vessel nearby. On Thursday night, the Indian Coast Guard started the rescue operations and a search is ongoing to find the missing fishermen. The mishap took place while the fishermen were returning to the shore in a boat after fishing.
The Coast Guard said, the fibre boat 'Nanma' capsized 11 nautical miles north of Kochi near Munambam harbour.
The Maritime Rescue Sub-centre in Kochi launched search and rescue operations. They diverted a fast patrol vessel, Abhinav, and an interceptor boat, C-162 to the location, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
The Coast Guard has stated that the ongoing poor weather conditions, which include high winds and rough seas, are making it difficult to conduct search and rescue operations.
In the meantime, one of the fishermen who was rescued said in an interview that they were forced to hold onto water cans for hours before another fishing boat was able to rescue them.
Meanwhile, British Navy arrested 32 Indian fishermen for trespassing into the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and confiscated two deep-sea fishing vessels. The fishing vessel named 'Manjumatha' started its journey from Thengapattanam fishing harbour in September.
The crew of the two fishing vessels included two men from Nagapattinam, one from Kerala and Assam each. The rest of the fishermen were from Thoothoor coastal village.
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