A motorised traditional fishing vessel engaged in fishing about 40 nautical miles from the Neendakara harbour here was rammed by a ship at about 12.30 p.m. on Saturday. In the impact of the crash, all the six fishermen in the vessel were thrown off.
They were rescued by the crew of a mechanised fishing boat that was in the vicinity. One of the fishermen is reported to be serious. They are being brought back to the Neendakara harbour in the same mechanised fishing vessel. The ship sailed away.
Five of the fishermen in the boat are from Tamil Nadu and one from Kerala. The owner of the vessel “Arogya Annai”, Sahayam, is from Kanyakumari district. He operates the vessel from the Neendakara harbour as the base.
The vessel had gone for hook and line fishing on Friday evening and was expected to return on Monday. The crew in the mechanised boat jotted the name of the ship and informed the Coast Guard. But the Coastal Police at Neendakara said there is some confusion over the name of the ship provided.
The boat with the rescued fishermen is expected to reach Neendakara by 8 p.m. Four fishermen have been identified as Xavier, Saji, Rennydas and Elias. The owner of the boat was not on board.