KOZHIKODE: The fishing boat ‘Ajmeer Shah’, which had reportedly gone missing with 15 fishermen after venturing into the sea on May 5, was found at the New Mangalore Port on Sunday. Beypore MLA designate P A Muhammed Riyas who received a communique from Coastal Police IG P Vijayan said the fishermen, 10 from Tamil Nadu and five from West Bengal, who were onboard the boat are safe.
On May 5, boats Ajmeer Shah and Milad-3, both owned by a Beypore native, had set sail from Beypore Port with 15 workers each. Milad-3 was forced to dock at Goa port after it developed a snag. It was the fishermen at Beypore who first alerted officials about the ‘missing boat’ after a red alert was issued in the state due to low pressure formation in the Arabian Sea.
Also, the fishermen community in Kozhikode had demanded coastal department, Navy and the district administration to immediately kickstart rescue operations for the missing fishermen. “Once the weather turns favourable both the boats will be brought to Beypore at the earliest. Coastal Police Police IG P Vijayan persistently followed up with all possible ports in the Southern side to find out the whreamissing boat,” Muhammed Riyas said. He said the fishermen should not venture into the sea and strictly follow the instructions of the India Meteorological Department and the coastal department during rough weather.