A body, presumably that of a fisherman who was killed in the cyclone Ockhi, was brought to the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital on Monday.
The corpse, which was recovered by the Coast Guard ship Samar was brought to Vizhinjam by around 10 a.m. The deceased was yet to be identified with the body being in a putrefied state.
Official sources said that as many as 19 bodies have been brought to the hospital to date with nine among them yet to be identified. Meanwhile, a 32-year-old fisherman, who had been discharged a few days ago, was admitted to the hospital after complaining of chest pain. The patient has been identified as Thomas David of Adimalathura. He had been discharged on Saturday after being found to have recovered from his injuries sustained earlier.
A total of nine fishermen, who were caught in the cyclonic storm, were being treated at the hospital. Among them, the condition of Poonthura native Michael, 42, remained critical. However, there has been a slight improvement in his health condition. Michael, who has been in coma, was able to breathe without the support of ventilator, official sources said. The ongoing search and rescue operations of the Coast Guard, Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force were being undertaken with the assistance of fishermen as well as officials of the Revenue and Fisheries Department. The search area has been increased during the last few days up to the coast of the Maldives.
