Search on for missing person of capsized cargo ship

Mangalore, Jun 24: Search operations continued to trace the missing person, a crew belonged the ill-fated South African cargo ship which ran aground and capsized in the turbulent tides near Tannirbavi coast near here yesterday.

The ship carrying 8000 tones of furnace slag to UAE fell on its side after running aground due to gusty winds and menacing tidal waves even as South-west monsoon wrecked havoc over Dakshina Kannada and many parts of Karnataka since last two days.

Superintendent of Police B Dyanand told sources that the search which was called off last night resumed today. The name of the missing person was identified Tedsse Berikut but his nationality was not yet known.

The ship which had fallen on its side could be salvaged only after the weather cleared. Heavy tug boats with heavy duty cranes had to be brought from Gujarat for the purpose, he said.

Eritrea registered ship with 24 crew members of mixed nationalities, captained by Ghanian Abraham N Kwaw came to New Mangalore Port from Eritrea on June 17 and began its voyage towards Dubai coast June 21. As the ship developed technical snag soon after it sailed out of the port, it was anchored near Tannirbavi beach for repair work.

Due to strong gale coupled with heavy rain, the ship ran aground and started tilting on its side yesterday morning. While 21 crew members were rescued from the ship two died and another went missing. The local fishermen from Tannirbavi and Bengre area launched a rescue operation to bring back the crew who jumped into the sea when the ship started to sink.

With the sinking of the ship, the serene coast to the north of the city had begun to pollute badly with the leakage of snag and 133 tones of petroleum products, including diesel, lubricant oil.

UNI