PANAJI: Even as state administration and defence forces managed to get in touch with 24 out of the 35 trawlers stranded off the Goa coast due to cyclone 'Phyan', ten of them are still missing. The trawlers went missing after they were caught in the cyclone while fishing in the Arabian Sea. As per official records, around 35 trawlers went missing since last night prompting the coast guard and the navy to initiate intense search and rescue operation off the Goa coast.
The worries multiplied as there was no contact with the fishermen till late afternoon. The fisheries department confirmed that around 200-odd fishermen were stranded on these trawlers.
Coast Guard Commandant A K Saxena told PTI this afternoon that helicopters and patrol vessels were pressed into action to scout for the missing trawlers.