The Tamil Nadu government has stepped up efforts to locate eight fishermen from the state, who reportedly went missing while fishing on the West coast, when cyclone ‘Phyan’ crossed Maharashtra, State Fisheries Department said on Saturday.
On November 1, Fishermen from Kanyakumari left in 150 mechanised boats for fishing on the coast from north Kerala to Gujarat, the department said in a release here.
“They were severely affected due to cyclone ‘Phyan’ and based on reports from local fishermen associations, seven boats sank and eight fishermen went missing,” the release said.
Some of them were rescued by fishermen in Goa and admitted to local hospital, it said, adding they have returned home following treatment.
“The state government has taken steps on a war-footing, with required measures to search and rescue the missing fishermen. There is no need to panic,” the release said.
Some boats besides the ones that sank were towed back and docked in Kochi (Kerala) and Garwar (Karnataka) while some others were returning to base in Kerala and Maharashtra.
