Cyclone Tauktae: One dead, five others go missing after tug boat capsizes near Mangaluru

MANGALURU/UDUPI: One person died, and five others are reportedly missing, after a tug boat that was assisting a ship at MRPL’s Single Point Mooring, drifted about 10 nautical miles off Mangaluru.
According to the tug boat's contractor, eight members were onboard Alliance, a tug boat that was scheduled to return on Friday. However, due to adverse weather conditions, they decided to spend the night in the sea.
On Saturday, at 6.50am they left from the SPM at a slow speed. However, at around 9.45am, the tug lost communication with the control room.
An SOS to the Indian Coast Guard, who in turn launched a search operation. They noticed that the tug boat was drifting. At around 2.30pm, the Coastal Security Police noticed the tug near the Padubdri Blue Flag beach.
Among eight, two managed to swim safely using safety tubes to Katapady. The survivors Muneer Mullah, 34, and Garibul Sheik, 24, from Kolkata were rushed to the government hospital in Udupi for treatment.
Meanwhile, the body of Hemakanth Jha, aged about 45, from the Northeast region, was found near Yermal. The search for the rest of the crew members is on.