KOCHI: Five days after a fishing boat collided with a shipping vessel off the coast of Munambam, the body of one of the nine missing persons was recovered on Saturday. The body of Shiju, son of Prakashan, Tharayil House, Valiyakara near Maliyankara, North Paravoor, was brought to the Munambam harbour on Saturday night. He was the lone Keralite on board the fishing boat Oceanic which sunk after it was hit by an unidentified shipping vessel on Tuesday morning.
Fisheries Department confirmed the identity of the recovered body. “The body was located from the sea bottom as it was trapped in the trawl nets of the Oceanic boat at the collision site,” said K K Lalijith, Fisheries Assistant Director. “The body was located by Indian Coast Guard Ship Samarth,” he added.
From Munambam harbour, the body was shifted to Ernakulam General Hospital where it is kept in the mortuary. Meanwhile, a team led by Circle Inspector T R Santhosh of Fort Kochi Coastal Police Station along with Mercantile Marine Department on Saturday left to Mangaluru for detailed inspection of Desh Shakti a crude tanker owned by Shipping Corporation of India which is suspected to have hit the fishing boat.
A police team had inspected the vessel which has been berthed at Mangaluru Port following the collision. The team would conduct a detailed examination of the hull and keel of the tanker.
Apart from a few debris, authorities have not yet traced the major portion of the fishing boat.