Month after cyclone Ockhi, India says 600 fishermen missing, over 250 killed

Meanwhile, the central government has agreed to continue search operations as requested by the state governments.

PTI photo

NEW DELHI: More than 660 fishermen remain missing whereas over 250 people have been killed after a deadly cyclone battered India's south coast and parts of neighbouring Sri Lanka, Indian authorities said on Wednesday. 

At least 27 deaths were reported after Cyclone Ockhi originated near Sri Lanka over the Bay of Bengal on November 29.

Winds of up to 130 kilometres (80 miles) per hour uprooted trees and damaged electricity and telephone infrastructure as well as tens of thousands of homes.

India's Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told parliament that 661 fishermen were still missing. However, it was not confirmed if the missing fishermen were presumed dead. While 400 were from Tamil Nadu state, 261 were from Kerala. 

The Defence Minister said the military and other services had rescued about 845 people up to December 20.

Hundreds of fishermen in mostly rudimentary boats were caught in the deadly cyclone that emerged in the Bay of Bengal and swept over Sri Lanka and south India before entering the Arabian Sea. 

There have been allegations that insufficient warnings were given to fishermen. Relatives of the missing have accused the authorities of not doing enough to find those still unaccounted for.

India's east coast, including major cities like Chennai, is prone to storms that strike each year between April and December. In 1999 more than 8,000 people were killed when a cyclone battered the eastern state of Orissa.