Some fishing boats found in cyclone-hit sea, 60 still missing

Panaji/Ahmedabad, Nov 11 : Twenty-four of the 34 Goa-based fishing trawlers, which went missing as the Arabian Sea turned rough under the influence of Cyclone Phyan, have been located, officials said Wednesday.

The Indian Navy joined the search for the fishermen and found eight people, including a child, in a damaged boat at Purangad Bay, about 10 nautical miles south of Ratnagiri, in Maharashtra. They were winched up to a Chetak helicopter and brought ashore.

Off Daman and Gujarat coasts, however, 50 trawlers were still missing. Gopal Tandel, president of the Daman Machimar Sangh (fishermen's association), told IANS: "Fifty fishing boats with a total estimated complement of about 500 fishermen are still out at sea and are on the path of the cyclone." Daman is a small coastal enclave on the Gujarat coast.

"There were about 80 boats out fishing but about 30 of them have either returned or are on their way back," Tandel added.

Administrator of the union territory of Daman, Satya Gopal, said the Coast Guard authorities had sent out a Dornier aircraft to warn fishing boats to return. He said that over the last three days, special warnings were being put out by the administration advising fishermen against venturing out to sea.

In Goa, according to data available with the state fisheries department, 10 trawlers were still unaccounted for and are suspected to have been blown northwards by the cyclone.

From Wednesday morning, Goa-based Coast Guard planes and ships have been searching for the missing trawlers.

Deputy director of the state fisheries department Shamila Monteiro said the department was in close contact with the Coast Guard. "Trawlers have seven to 30 fishermen on each of them, depending on the size of the vessel," Monteiro told IANS.

"Ten trawlers are still missing. Fortunately, we have news from the other trawlers who were reported missing since morning. We have to rely on the Coast Guard for such search operations."

Menino Afonso, chairman of the Mandovi Fisheries Cooperative Society, said that several trawlers had been driven towards the Maharashtra coast by the cyclone. "Some of the missing trawlers went as far as Ratnagiri, Jaigad and Malvan jetties along the Konkan coast in Maharashtra. They have established radio contact with us now."

Earlier, Coast Guard commandant A.K. Saxena told IANS: "Our patrol vessels are already on the lookout for the trawlers. We have also pressed a lookout aircraft into the operation, which will scan the sea off Goa in search of the missing trawlers."

The Indian Navy has joined the search. Navy spokesperson M.C. Joshi said eight people, including a child, were rescued from a damaged boat and lifted into a helicopter at Purangad Bay, about 10 nautical miles south of Ratnagiri, in Maharashtra.

"Our air station continues to launch sorties to scour the seas for other fishermen in distress," Joshi said.