Trawler capsize: toll mounts to 76

November 02, 2010 09:18 pm | Updated October 22, 2016 10:04 am IST - Kolkata

Fishermen carry a body recovered from the waters near Kakdwip on Tuesday.

Fishermen carry a body recovered from the waters near Kakdwip on Tuesday.

The death toll in the trawler capsize in the Muriganga in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district mounted to 76 on Tuesday, as 10 more bodies were recovered by rescue teams.

More than 70 people still remain untraced, district officials said. Home Secretary G.D. Gautama said that contrary to earlier estimates that 220 people were onboard, based on the names of missing passengers submitted at the Kakdwip sub-divisional office, it now appeared that over 240 people had boarded the vessel.

The over-loaded trawler, carrying pilgrims from Hijli Sharif in Purba Medinipur district to Kakdwip in South 24 Parganas district, capsized after it was lashed by high waves caused by a passing ship. Ninety-three passengers were rescued.

Due to the inclement weather, strong currents and choppy waters, the rescue operations had to be called off prematurely on Monday.

“The rescue operations resumed in full force on Tuesday morning after the skies weather cleared up. Personnel of the Coast Guard, the Navy, the Civil Defence Group, the State's disaster management force and the police worked in tandem to recover bodies and locate the trawler,” District Magistrate of South 24 Parganas Narayan Swarup Nigam said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.