KOCHI: Three fishermen, who ventured into Veeranpuzha, a tributary of Kochi backwaters went missing in the sea in the wee hours of Wednesday.  According to the coastal police, four fishermen had ventured into the river in two country crafts to cast the net around midnight.

It started raining around 1:30 am and strong wind started blowing. There was turbulent flow in the river and one of the boat capsized. The second boat also capsized while attempting to save the friends.

Fire and officials started searching for the three fishermen who were reportedly missing after two fishing boats capsized in Elamkunnappuzha. @NewIndianXpress @xpresskerala @shibasahu2012 @albin_tnie @MSKiranPrakash pic.twitter.com/yDQAkfvJ8S

— A Sanesh (@sanesh_TNIE) August 5, 2020

One of the fishermen, Saju of Elamkunnappuzha managed to reach the shore and informed his friends who launched a search for the missing people. The missing people are 45-year-old Santhosh of Aduvangasseril veedu in Naytarambalam, Sidharthan (55) of Adimakkandathil veedu in Pukkad and Sajeevan (56) of Karrithattil veedu in Pachalam.

Police and fire force have launched a search for the missing persons.  It is said the fishermen had no experience in casting the Oonnuvala. Meanwhi!e, the IMD and the fisheries department have issued a warning against venturing into the sea for fishing as the sea is rough. The state expects heavy rainfall in the next couple of days.