The bodies of two fishermen in the district who went missing on Friday were found on Saturday.
Saradhan, 50, of Puthuval in Punnapra near here had gone fishing from Thottappally, and Joyichan, 38, of Mararikulam South grama panchayat, had gone to the sea in a ‘ponth vallom' from Chettikad on Friday.
The body of Saradhan was found nearly five nautical miles off the Trikkunnappuzha coast near Thottappally. A fishing boat passing by reported a human head floating in the waters around 12.20 p.m. Even though a Fisheries Department boat rushed to the spot, it could not locate the body. Later, a joint search by the Fisheries Department and the coastal police located the body, which was taken ashore by around 2 p.m. The body of Joyichan was washed ashore and found by local people near Kattur Kandakkali beach by 4.45 p.m.
Saradhan's body was handed over to relatives after the post-mortem examination. The post-mortem examination on Joyichan's body will be conducted on Sunday morning.
Saradhan had gone fishing along with five others when the boat hit a sand wall formed near the ‘pulimutt' in Thottappally. Three fishermen were injured and two others swam to safety.
On Saturday morning, two Navy teams, consisting of five divers each, began search operations in Thottappally and Chettikkad areas but rough seas hampered their efforts.
Additional District Magistrate K.P. Thampy, who is also holding the additional charge of District Collector, said that all precautionary steps had been taken in the district to tackle such accidents in the sea once monsoon set in.
