Thiruvananthapuram: Efforts continued on Friday to identify the ship that rammed into a fishing boat off Kerala coast causing the death of two fishermen from the state with shipping authorities questioning a number of ships.
"We are questioning a number of ships (that passed through the area) but will not like to prematurely blame any of them," a source in the Director General of Shipping told PTI in Mumbai. Several ships in the proximity of the reported incident had been tracked in co-ordination with the Coast Guard and those prima facie involved in the collision were being investigated, sources said.
Two fishermen, who ventured to sea from Kollam coast, were killed and three others reported missing when their boat collided with an unidentified ship off Alappuzha coast in the wee hours yesterday. Coast Guard sources in Kochi said a search was on for the three missing fishermen. "Certain ships have been investigated, but nothing conclusive has been found," they said.
The ill-fated boat had seven fishermen aboard, of whom two were rescued by other boats and brought to shore.
The Navy and Coast Guard have launched an intense search to track down the ship which caused the accident since yesterday.
The two deaths have shocked the fishing community of Neendakara in Kollam district as it happened within two weeks after two fishermen were allegedly shot dead by marines onboard Italian ship `Enrica Lexie`.
PTI