The injured victims have been identified as K Chinnathurai (50) and P Arulraj(60), sources said.

On learning about the accident, which caused injuries to the fishermen, their families were aggrieved over it and sought necessary action against the mariner.

Totally, seventeen fishermen including the two victims of Kanniyakumari district, Tamil Nadu and two fishermen from Kolkata, West Bengal) set out for deep sea fishing on the mechanised boat ‘Shijumon’, which belongs to Rajamani of Kotilpaadu, Kanyakumari district, on Friday (October 22) from the Government Fishing Harbour at Colachel in the district, Fr Churchill, general secretary, The South Asian Fishermen Fraternity (SAFF), Kanniyakumari said on Saturday.

While the mechanised boat, which’s owned by Rubanrose, was sailing at mid sea, the cargo ship ‘Navious Venus’ on its way from Singapore to Mumbai, collided with the mechanised boat and left it heavily damaged.

“While the collision necessitated medical treatment for those two fishermen, who were admitted to Government Medical College Hospital at Trivandrum in Kerala, mostly the rest of the crew on board suffered minor injuries,” Churchill said.

As the master of the boat informed Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and sought immediate help to rescue the victims. With help of fellow fishermen, those 15 fishermen managed to return to Colachel harbour on Saturday.