One killed trying to fish using explosive

Efforts are on to find out how the victim and his friends got the detonators

Nagamani, wife of Loganathan, in tears after he was killed trying to catch fish using detonators in River Bhavani on Wednesday.

An attempt at blast fishing in River Bhavani proved fatal on Wednesday as it claimed a life while leaving another injured.

Blast fishing

According to police, Loganathan (25) of Harijan Colony in Vellipalayam near Mettupalayam along with Ramachandran, Pasupathy, Ranganathan, Boopathy, and Ravikumar ventured into River Bhavani to fish using explosives. When the detonators explode in water, the shock waves either leave the fishes stunned or dead helping the men net a huge catch.

On Wednesday morning, Loganathan and his friends placed an explosive inside a bottle filled with sand and threw it into the river. However, the detonator exploded just as Loganathan went to examine it resulting in his death. Ravikumar, who was near the victim, also suffered serious injuries and was rushed to Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for treatment.

Police teams led by Superintendent of Police (Erode) Ponni (holding additional charge of Coimbatore) rushed to Mettupalayam along with Deputy Superintendent of Police Mohan and held inquiries.

Efforts are on to find out how Loganathan and his friends got the explosive.

Forensic experts and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad team members have reached the spot to collect samples of the exploded material.

Offence

Police sources said that possession, use of explosives without valid papers and its use for fishing was an offence. Investigations are on.