The death toll in Tuesday night’s fishing boat accident at Vizhinjam rose to three on Thursday with the Coast Guard and the Coastal Police recovering the bodies of two missing fishermen.
The body of Joseph of Poonthura was recovered by the Vizhinjam Coastal Police with the help of local fishermen from Poovar on Thursday morning. The body was entangled in a ‘kambavala’ net used by fishermen, Coastal police Circle Inspector Elias P. George said. Shortly afterwards, the Coast Guard recovered the body of the second missing man, Shabariar, alias Xavier, from the sea off Vizhinjam. Shabariar is a resident of Kottapuram near Vizhinjam.
Washed ashore
The body of another fisherman who was missing, Davidson of Poonthura, had washed ashore on Wednesday.
All the missing men have now been accounted for, the police said.
The bodies were recovered during an intensive search which has been under way since Tuesday night.
Several fishing boats had met with difficulties and capsized near the harbour mouth at Vizhinjam in the torrential rain on Tuesday night, prompting a search and rescue operation led by the Coast Guard, Coastal Police and city police officials.
Six fishermen were rescued by the Coast Guard while two others swam to safety.
In view of the bad weather, the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has prohibited fishing along the Kerala coast till further notice. Eleven Kerala districts (except Malappuram, Wayanad and Kasaragod) are on yellow alert on Thursday, given the possibility of isolated heavy rainfall.
