Coast Guard launches operations to trace 11 missing fishermen

Chennai, Nov 2 (UNI) The Coast Guard has launched intensive search operations to trace 11 missing fishermen, who had ventured into the sea on October 31.

The missing fishermen hailing from Kasimedu area in North Chennai were among the 23 fishermen, who put out into the sea in four boats.

However, 12 of them, who travelled in two boats, returned to the shore due to bad weather conditions.

Coast Guard IG Rajendra Singh told UNI here today that the search operations followed requesits from the State Fisheries Department and the fishermen associations.

He said a Coast Guard chopper made an aerial sortie yesterday and a dornier aircraft, carrying a life raft, made a sortie this morning for two hours covering about 30 to 40 nautical miles in the northern side. But they could not spot the missing fishermen.

Another Dornier would make a sortie in the evening on the south side. A Coast Guard Ship had also been pressed into service.

''Neither the government officials nor the fisherfolk were able to give the correct details as to in which side the fishermen had gone for fishing. Without this it would be very difficult to trace them as sea is a very vast,''Mr Singh said.

''If we know the route and the moment the dornier spotted them, the ship, which was already in sea, could be diverted to rescue them'', he added.

Meanwhile, Mr Singh said the Coast Guard ship had rescued about 14 boats at Nagapattinam and Mandapam areas in the last couple of days and handed over them to the district officials.

The fishermen in these boats got drifted into the sea due to the squally winds during the recent cyclone.

Despite repeated warnings the poor fishermen ventured into the sea even at times of cyclone for their livelihood, he said.

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