KOLLAM: Four fishermen who went for fishing from Sakthikulangara Fishing Harbour here on Saturday evening have gone missing in the sea after their boat developed a glitch.
Though a search operation was launched jointly by fishermen, coastal police, fisheries department’s marine enforcement cell and the Indian Navy, they were yet to receive any information about the missing fishermen as well as their boat called ‘Snehithan’ till this report went to print.
The missing men have been identified as boat owner Majid, Mujeeb, Yesudasan and Sabu. While Majid and Mujeeb are Kavanadu residents, the native places of the other two are yet to be ascertained.
“They boarded the boat from Sakthikulangara on Saturday evening and one of them contacted his friend around midnight and conveyed the message that they had got stranded after their boat developed a technical glitch,” said an officer of Neendakara coastal police station.
“While laying the fishing net, it got stuck in the boat’s propeller, damaging it. Upon receiving intimation, a search party was assigned, but the fishermen could not be located,” the officer said.
According to police, as the communication devices including the GPS-enabled satellite phone in the boat seem to be damaged, they have not been able to locate the fishermen or contact them. The fishermen are feared to have drifted away from the mobile network area.
According to Boat Operators Association president Peter Mathias, the other fishermen who have set out from various points in the district in separate boats for fishing in the deep sea have been asked to keep an eye on the missing fishermen and their boat.