Eleven fishermen who were rescued by the navy brought ashore by INS Kalpenion on Monday at the Sothern Naval Command in Kochi. PTI
Eleven fishermen who were rescued by the navy brought ashore by INS Kalpenion on Monday at the Sothern Naval Command in Kochi. PTI
The Kerala government on Tuesday said search and rescue operations are on to trace the 92 fishermen missing in the high seas after Cyclone Ockhi hit the state's coast on November 29.
Operation Synergy, a joint rescue mission by the navy, air force, the coast guard and state fisheries department has so far rescued 252 fishermen.
Besides, several fishermen had reached ports and harbours in Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat and Lakshadweep, Minister for Fisheries Mercykutty said.
With this, more than 1,000 fishermen have reached the shore safely, she said.
On cyclone-related deaths, the minister said of the 25 deaths reported so far, 21 were fishermen.
A total of 292 fishermen had gone for fishing on November 29 from the Thiruvananthapuram coastal region and out of that 200 people have already been rescued, she said.
"Officially 92 fishermen are still missing...Rescue work is going with more intensity and by widening the area for search," she said adding that local people have put the number of missing persons at more than 100.
Mercykutty said the state government has also decided to open Central Control Rooms in Kochi, along with the one functioning here, to provide rescue mission-related information.
According to Government Medical College sources here, as many as 41 fishermen, who were rescued, received treatment till Tuesday morning.