At least three fishermen were killed and nine are missing after a ship collided with their boat off the coast of Kochi on Tuesday, August 7. The fishing boat, Oceanic, had 15 fishermen from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and West Bengal.
The accident came to light after several fishermen on other boats alerted the authorities.
The Oceanic had left the Munanbam Harbour in Kochi on Monday evening. The deceased have been identified as Yuganathan, Manikodi, and Yakoob from Tamil Nadu.
Nine fishermen are still missing while two, who were rescued, have been admitted to the Government General Hospital in Kochi.
"Coast Guard, Navy vessels, and helicopters are on a lookout. So far, two bodies have been recovered. We are yet to identify the nine missing people," Superintendent of Police (rural) Rahul R Nair was quoted as saying by ANI.
Rescue operations are underway as the Navy has already deployed a Dornier aircraft for the search and rescue mission. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has told the Ernakulam District Collector to look into the accident.
