Navy, Coast Guard and local fishermen were continuing their search even on Friday to locate the ship that hit the boat killing two fishermen off Thottappally here on Thursday.
The search is also on for the missing three fishermen in the boat that was hit by the ship. Navy spokesperson said that it had sent its ship, INS Sarveshak to locate the ill-fated boat that has sunk on the impact of the collision. Navy has pressed its divers to the area as fears were expressed by local fishermen of the missing fishermen being trapped inside the sunken boat. The Navy and Coast Guard had already pressed its ships and helicopters for search operations from Thursday onwards. Sources said that the Navy and Coast Guard will continue the search for the next two days. Coast Guard had intercepted a couple of ships after the incident, but could not locate the particular ship that hit the boat, they said.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Alappuzha DySP, K. Mahesh Kumar to probe in to the mid-sea hit and run case had met Navy and Coast Guard officials in Kochi on Friday.
Ambalapuzha police had registered a case under Section 280 (Rash navigation of Vessel), Section 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and Section 304 (A) (Causing death by negligence) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) on Thursday evening. However, the investigations could begin only after the ship was located.
