Mumbai: Bodies of two members of a fishing boat crew, who went missing after an explosion on their boat on Tuesday, were recovered by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Thursday after a two-day search-and-rescue operation. Immediately after being informed of the explosion by Additional Commissioner Marine, Mumbai, the ICG deployed its ship Subhadra Kumari Chauhan and a C-433 interceptor boat from Murud-Janjira for the search. Its subsequently added more ships from its stations in Murud-Janjira and Ratnagiri to the effort, and on May 16, deployed a helicopter as well.
On May 17, an ICG vessel recovered one body off Harnai port and handed it over to local police. The body was identified as Aarif Bhai, one of the missing crew, by his family members.
On the same day in the evening, a second body was found on rocks near Kolthare beach, and was recovered by a Coast Guard vessel and handed over to police. The body was identified as Hanif Bhai, the other crew member reported missing.
The explosion on the fishing boat Ek Veera Prasanna happened in the sea off Harnai port, Maharashtra, on May 15, reportedly because of excessive heating of its radiator. Two of the crew on board were saved by the crew of another fishing vessel, Lakshya Vedi , and shifted to local hospital by Marine Police.
