THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Six fishermen went missing and two confirmed dead in separate boat mishaps amid rough sea conditions across the state, on Saturday.
Meanwhile, 17 fishermen who were left stranded after their fishing vessel suffered an engine failure and drifted amidst surging waves off the Beypore coast, were rescued on Saturday morning. The death of two fishermen who went missing after their boat capsized off the Kollam coast on Friday has been confirmed.
Four fishermen remained missing off the Thiruvananthapuram coast after boat mishaps at Muthalapozhi and Vizhinjam, prompting a massive multi-agency search operation involving the Navy, Coast Guard, Coastal Police, Marine Enforcement and the Fisheries Department.
Search operations intensified on Saturday. A Navy Garuda helicopter flew in from Ernakulam and conducted repeated aerial sorties until evening before aerial operations were suspended by 7pm.
One more fishing boat capsized off the Kollam coast on Saturday marking the third such accident in a week, leaving two fisherman missing. On Friday a boat carrying 14 people had capsized near the Neendakara estuary after being hit by a huge wave.
The body of one of the missing fishermen, Radhakrishna, 47, was recovered on Saturday. His son Gautham Krishna, 26, is still missing. Rajeevan, 76, his father-in-law had died in the accident on Friday.
With persistent heavy rains, winds and massive sea swells lashing across the coastline, weather agencies have issued alerts. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has warned fishermen and coastal population to exercise caution in view of swell waves along the coast of Kannur-Kasaragod.