Panaji/Ahmedabad: Around 600 fishermen from
Gujarat and Goa were on Wednesday missing or stranded off the Western
Coast afer the sea became rough in the cyclonic storm, as
Coast guard and Navy deployed ships and aircraft for search
and rescue missions.
At least 35 trawlers carrying about 200 crew members from
Goa were missing after gusty winds lashed the western coast
since the last two days while around 400 fishermen from
Gujarat who had ventured into the sea in about 60 boats were
stranded.
Fishermen at Malim jetty, located across Mandovi river
near Panaji said more than 28 trawlers have not returned and
lost contact with the base for last two days.
"There can be more than 28 trawlers. What I am telling
you is the figure available at this time," Menino Afonso,
chairman, Mandovi Fisheries Co-operative Society, said.
Each trawler carries an average six crew members, he
said, adding that the attempt to contact these trawlers have
turned futile. "There is a possibility they must have been
dragged away from Goa state waters and ventured in Malwan
(Maharashtra)," Afonso said.
Indian Coast Guard which has initiated search and rescue
operations have said that they are flooded with the
missing complaints since yesterday.
"An aircraft has been commissioned in search and
rescue operation," Commandant A K Saxena, Indian Coast Guard,
said in Panaji.
Two trawlers from Cutbona jetty in south Goa and four
from Betul jetty are also reported missing.
Union Territory Daman and Diu Fisheries department
official Abhilasha Agarwal said that the fishermen in
Gujarat were stuck 40 nautical miles off the Daman coast. The
fishermen had left the coast two days ago before the cyclone
warning was issued.
"We sent a message to the fishermen with the help of
Indian Coast Guard. They will be trying to reach them using
the helicopters," Agarwal said.
Fishermen in over 30 boats have returned in Gujarat and others are
set to reach the coast, official sources said.
However, coastal areas of south Gujarat continued to be
on alert. Light to moderate rainfall was recorded in some
parts of the coastal districts like Bhavnagar, Amreli, Surat,
Bharuch, Valsad and Navsari.
In Bhavnagar, a level three warning was issued by the
district administration asking the fishermen to stay away from
the sea for the next 48 hours.
Meanwhile, 24 persons including eight fishermen were
rescued by the Navy and Coast Guard from the choppy waters in
the Arabian Sea in Maharashtra.
Eight fishermen, including a minor, who ventured into
the rough sea ignoring the warnings of a cyclonic, were
rescued off the Ratnagiri coast in Konkan region with the help
of Navy's Chetak helicopter, Capt M Nambiar, Ministry of
Defence spokesman, said.
Sixteen crew members of two vessels were rescued by the
Coast Guard from Bombay High, an off-shore oilfield 160 km off
the coast of Mumbai, he said.
The Navy has deployed its personnel equipped with
boats and lifeguards in Mankhurd, Malad, Worli, Ghatkopar and
Colaba areas in Mumbai to carry out rescue operations in the
event of floods, he added.
The Coast guard has also earmarked an aircraft and two
vessels for search and rescue operations and for preventing
fishermen from venturing into sea, he added.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 00:30