The bodies of nine fishermen who died in the wreckage of a fishing trawler off West Bengal’s coast were found on Monday and six more men lost in the rough seas of the Bay of Bengal earlier this month are likely to be found soon.
According to police, the trawler, MV Joy Ma Kali, went missing on July 4 after encountering severe weather conditions at sea. After an intensive search operation by the Police, the Coast Guard, forest department and local fishermen, nearly five kilometres off the Bagherchar coast, the wreckage were found.
The trawler had been reported to have left the Shankarpur coast in East Midnapore on July 2 accompanied by 15 fishermen and it was hoped that it would return after 10-12 days. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had, however, issued a warning on July 3, cautioning fishermen to come in as the low-pressure system is responsible for creating rough sea over the northwest Bay of Bengal.
MV Joy Ma Kali, after July 4, lost communication and was not able to bring to its safety. When the vessel did not come back, police launched a search.
The local fishermen spotted wreckage in the vicinity of Gobardhanpur on 10th July. The ship/boat overturned and was towed in to the beach, where nine decomposed bodies were recovered, because of rough seas and high waves.
The bodies are in such a state of degradation that they’re not recognizable and have been submitted for post-mortem exams to determine who they are, police said. A search of the missing fishermen is ongoing.
The inhabitants of the trawler were from Odisha district, Nadia and East and West Midnapore. Despite the tough weather, the rescue continued.