Ernakulam: At least three fishermen were killed and two injured after a merchant ship rammed a boat off Kerala coast on Tuesday.
The three deceased were Tamil Nadu natives - Yuganathan, 45; Manakudi, 50; and Yakub, 57. All three bodies have been recovered.
The two injured have been admitted to hospital. Nine people, including a Keralite, were reported missing. Shiju is from Munambu in Ernakulam.
There were 14 people on the boat, Oceana, from Munambu. Apart from the Keralite, the boat had 11 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and two from West Bengal.
The boat was completely destroyed in the collision.
The incident occurred around 3.30 am Tuesday while the boat was engaged in fishing off Chettuva coast. People in other boats in the vicinity rescued the victims. The police said the Navy and Coast Guard have been apprised of the incident.
Tracking down the ship
Defence sources said the merchant vessel involved in the incident has been identified. However, the matter could be confirmed only after interrogation. The identified merchant vessel is registered in India.
While one Dornier aircraft was diverted for search operations, another one was sent to locate the merchant ships which were present in the surrounding areas at the time of the collision.
INS Jamuna is also part of the search and rescue mission. An advanced light helicopter has been kept on standby. Indian Coast Guard has despatched an interceptor boat and a ship to the area.
Meanwhile, the directorate general of shipping has been made the nodal agency to take action against the erring merchant vessel.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has instructed the Ernakulam district collector to take immediate action.
There were instances of ship-boat collision off Kerala earlier too.
On June 7, two fishermen were injured when a foreign vessel allegedly hit their fishing boat off the coast here.
Two Italian marines were arrested in February 2012 for fatally shooting two Indian fishermen - Ajesh Binki (25) and Jelestine (45) - from onboard merchant vessel 'Enrica Lexie' off Alappuzha coast, 'mistaking' them for Somali pirates.
The issue had kicked up a huge row and strained the ties between the two countries. After a long legal battle, marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, who were lodged in a Kerala jail, were allowed to return to Italy.
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