The Coastal Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Sudesh Kumar, has confirmed to TNM that a total of 14 fishermen were present on the boat, out of which three who have been confirmed dead, hail from Tamil Nadu.
A ship collided with their boat at Munambam, off the Kochi coast, in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
“Out of the 14 fishermen, three are confirmed to have died and two of them who sustained injuries are being treated at the Ernakulam General Hospital,” said Sudesh Kumar.
Mid Sea Collision of a fishing boat'Oceanic' with Merchant Vessel reported 28 Nautical Miles off #Kerala coast . 04 @IndiaCoastGuard ships & Aircraft pressed for #SAR . 02 survivors/03 bodies recovered by boats in vicinity. #SAR for remaining 09 crew continues @DefenceMinIndia pic.twitter.com/q178RsvKHg
— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) August 7, 2018
“The other 9 fishermen are missing, but the Coast guard and Navy are doing everything they can to find them,” he added.
Talking to TNM, Fort Kochi Sub Inspector (SI) said, “The three fishermen who died have been identified as Manakkudy (50), Yuvanathan (45) and Yakoob (57), all hailing from Ramanthurai in Tamil Nadu.”
He said that out of the 14 fishermen, two are from West Bengal, one from Kerala and the rest are from Tamil Nadu.
According to the SI, “Oceanic” was the name of the boat which was carrying the fishermen.
As per a report by The New Indian Express (TNIE), officers are reported to have said that the vessel which collided with the boat appears to be an Indian registered vessel, MD Desh Shakti.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a statement following the incident said that he has instructed the Ernakulam district collector to take immediate action.
“The Coast Guard and the Navy have been alerted to find the missing fishermen as well as the vessel,” said the CM.
In a similar incident in June, 2017, two fishermen were killed when their fishing boat was hit by a cargo vessel. The Indian fishing boat called Carmal Maths was carrying 14 people, and it was hit by a foreign vessel called Amber.