THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite an improvement in weather, the search for the two fishermen who went missing from Thiruvananthapuram district is yet to yield the desired result. After a search in Neendakara, INS Kalpeni – the Navy ship from Kochi – reached Muthalapozhi by Sunday evening and held a preliminary search there. The Navy crew will continue their search in the district on Monday, fisheries department officials said.
The Coast Guard ship Anagh also did a search centred around Kanyakumari, as demanded by the coastal residents, to trace John Mathias who went missing from Vizhinjam. A seven-member scuba diving team too arrived for the search operations there. Patrol boats and a marine ambulance were also active along the shore.
Meanwhile, the family of John came out against the cyberbullying they faced. “When a fisherman goes to the sea, his family will be tense till the moment he reaches home. When we say there has to be ample facilities to lead a peaceful life, who gets offended by that?” John’s son Jinil told reporters.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister V D Satheesan said there has not been any lapse from the side of the government in the search mission. “Unlike ever in the history of the state, we have been searching for the past nine days, with the support of the Union government. This is not the first time that people are going missing in the sea. When (Pinarayi) was the chief minister, 148 people went missing,” Satheesan said.
CPM leader and former minister P Rajeeve said the government failed miserably in coordinating the mission.
