Coast Guard looking for missing fishers off Kerala coast, trying to tow stranded boats to safety off Alappuzha

Coast Guard has launched an aerial mission to search for two missing fishermen

Aerial search by the Coast Guard is in progress in Kerala for the two fishermen who went missing after their fishing boat ‘Tiyamol’ capsized off Chettuva, Thrissur district, in inclement weather.

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The boat had gone out to the sea with six fishermen on board on August 1, and the Coast Guard soon after getting a request from the State administration, diverted one of its vessels on patrol, Arnvesh, to the area to look for the fishers.  

Four of the boat’s fishers, however, reached shore safely, and the Coast Guard has now launched a helicopter to conduct aerial search for the two still missing.  

In a separate incident, the Coast Guard said it provided assistance to fishing boats ‘Vadakkethoppil’ and ‘John Bernice’, which reported engine failure off the Alappuzha coast. While the Coast Guard ship Saksham rendered them assistance, the boats’ crew were unwilling to abandon the boats. The Coast Guard said it is now trying to get the boat safely to the shore even as the sea remains ‘very rough’.