The bodies of the two fishermen from Vellayil here, missing since May 29, were washed ashore at Munambam near Azhikkode in Thrissur district, on Tuesday morning.
Local people there informed the police about the sighting of two bodies at around 10 a.m. Both the fishermen, S.P. Sivadasan, 52, and N.P. Prakashan, 55, had set sail in a motor-fitted boat ‘Manava Maithri’, made of fibre and plywood, from the Puthiyappa harbour on Thursday.
They fished at least 25 nautical miles off the coast at night. It was believed that the boat might have been hit by a steel fishing boat.
After carrying out a post-mortem examination at Aluva, the bodies were brought to the city in the evening. These were kept for at Gandhi Road junction for the public to pay their respects and later cremated at the electric crematorium at West Hill.
The district administration has ordered a compensation of Rs.5 lakh each to the families of the deceased. The amount would be sourced from the Fishermen Welfare Fund Board. A sum of Rs.5,000 each was also released as an emergency aid and another Rs.5,000 for the educational needs of their children. The family of Sivadas would also receive an additional benefit of Rs.5 lakh, as he had enrolled in the fishermen personal accident insurance scheme of Kerala State Co-operative Federation for Fishermen Development.
District Collector C.A Latha also decided to order a comprehensive inquiry into the deaths. The Mumbai- based central Maritime Board will be entrusted to investigate the accident.
Probe
A recommendation in this regard has been sent to the Fisheries Director.
The district administration had faced the wrath of the fishing community on Monday following its lackadaisical attitude in handling the issue. Hundreds of people under the aegis of the Araya Samajam picketed the Gandhi Road junction for more than three hours. Later, the Collector apologised for the delay in providing timely help for the search operation.
