Ship-boat collision off Kanniyakumari leaves 17 fishers injured

NAGERCOIL: 17 fishermen were injured after a Panama-flagged ship collided with a mechanised boat some 20 nautical miles off Colachel coast around 8.15 pm on Friday. All the injured were admitted to Government Colachel Hospital. 

A Dheepan Rose, a fisherman who was aboard the boat Sijumon 1, said 15 of the 17 fishermen in the boat are from Colachel, Arochiapuram, Manakudi, Kottilpadu, and Kurumpanai coastal hamlets of Kanniyakumari;  two are from West Bengal. 

“Most of us were sleeping when the accident happened. There was a huge bang and we were thrown to all sides,” he said. He said the condition of two injured fishermen – Arulraj (60) from Mela Manakudi and Chinnadurai (50) from Reethapuram in Colachel – is critical.

They were rushed to Vizhinjam coast by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and have been admitted to Government Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram. “By that time, other boats came to our rescue and we were towed to Colachel harbour. We reached the coast in the early hours of Saturday. Later, all of us have been admitted to Colachel Government Hospital,” he said. 

Another fishermen on the ill-fated boat, A Rooben Rose (36), said the ship had only a few lights on. “After the collision, most of the lights of the ship started burning. The impact was so strong that our boat nearly capsized,” he said, adding after the accident the cargo vessel did not stop. The son of the owner of the boat, R Anto Siju, said they have lodged a complaint with the Colachel Marine Police.

South Asian Fishermen Fraternity (SAFF) General Secretary Father Churchil said the cargo ship was heading to Mumbai from Singapore. Secretary of Kanniyakumari-based Meenavar Orunginaippu Sangam said the Panama-flagged vessel would reach Mumbai on October 25. “The authorities should take legal action against the ship and should not let it leave Mumbai till the owners of the ship give compensation to the injured.”