BALASORE: Two fishermen are missing after their mechanised boat capsized in the Bay of Bengal off the Talasari beach in Balasore district of Odisha on Tuesday.
Six others have been rescued and are out of danger.
The missing fishermen have been identified as Binod Mallick and Siba Shankar Behera. They were residents of Ranasinghpur village near Bhubaneswar.
The family members of the missing fishermen have urged the marine police and Coast Guard to trace them. The local trawler owners' association has pressed two boats into service for the rescue operation.
Sources said eight fishermen from the village had set out to sea in the early hours of Tuesday. A strong wave upended their boat while they were laying out their nets 3 km from the Bichitrapur fishing base.
While one managed to hold on to an oil container and swam ashore, five others were rescued by the crew of another boat.
"A boat from Digha of West Bengal spotted us when we shouted for help. They threw out a rope to us,” said Jalendra Dalai, a rescued fisherman.
Five others -- Baidhar Mallick, Raju Mandal, Suna Kuanr, Amar Behera and Nilakantha Mallick -- who were rescued are safe and recuperating.