KANNIYAKUMARI: Nine fishermen were rescued from their sinking vessel mid-sea, after it was allegedly struck by a merchant ship, 25 nautical miles off the Colachel coast on Wednesday.
The merchant ship proceeded with its passage, taking no action to save the lives of the crew on the sinking boat, alleged boat owner and workers association secretary C Johnson.
He further said that the crew of his fishing vessel Paraloga Matha, which had ventured to sea on December 4, were resting on the boat before resuming fishing on Wednesday morning at around 4:30 am when a merchant ship allegedly collided with their boat.
Sources confirmed that a merchant ship named M.T. NUS registered at Comoros island, which had been going from China to Oman was responsible for the collision. Johnson said that he has sent an urgent communication to the Indian Coast Guard and Indian authorities to immediately intercept the ship from leaving the coast of India and investigate the case.
The vessel’s skipper S Sahaya Panidhas, who filed a complaint with the Colachel Marine Police, said that the rear end of the boat was damaged in the collision and water started gushing in immediately. Even though the crew tried to plug the hole for 3 to 4 hours, it sank into the sea, he added.
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