MANGALURU: A search team comprising coastal security police and local fishermen recovered bodies of three missing fishermen on Wednesday. With this, out of the six missing fishermen, the bodies of five have been retrieved so far, police said.
On Tuesday, six fishermen were feared missing and 19 were rescued after deep-sea fishing boat ‘Shreeraksha’ capsized, as it was overloaded with fish and due to the turbulent sea, about 9 nautical miles off the Mangaluru coast. Search for the sixth missing fisherman, Mohammed Ansar, is expected to resume on Thursday.
The bodies of fishermen Chinthan, 21, Mohammed Hassainar, 28, and Ziaullah,36, were recovered. They were found a few metres away from the accident spot.
On Tuesday, the bodies of Preetham, 28, and Panduranga Suvarna, 58, residents of Bokkapatna, were retrieved. Coastal police said search continued near the accident spot. Rescue teams have removed the fishing nets from the capsized boat, which is about eight nautical miles away from the estuary mouth, off the Mangaluru coast. District minister Kota Shrinivas Poojari, who met the victims’ families on Wednesday, said ex gratia will be provided to them. He added that an investigation will be conducted to ascertain the reason for the accident.
Bunder dock closed to mourn the victims
The ever-bustling fish dock in Bunder mourned the death of the fishermen on Wednesday. The fishermen, as well as fishing boat owners, called an impromptu bandh, and all activities came to a standstill during the day. The fishermen and a large workforce working at the dock said, “None of the ministers visited the spot after the boat capsized. Whenever a business tycoon or any influential person goes missing at sea or in a river, there is a mammoth operation jointly carried out by many departments,” they alleged. They also blamed central agencies for not putting in enough effort in the search operation.
Fishermen organised a condolence meeting at the Old Port on Wednesday. BK Imtiyaz, district president, DYFI, and Bunder Sharmika Sangha secretary, said the incident has shocked not only fishermen, but the entire coastal region.
He demanded that each victim’s family should be given ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh and a government job.