Bhubaneswar/Balasore, Aug 3 (PTI) One of the four fishermen, who went missing after venturing into the sea in Odisha’s Balasore district, was rescued near Digha coast in West Bengal, police said here on Sunday.
Search operations are underway to rescue the three others, a senior officer said.
They belong to a family in Baliapal block of the district, he said, adding that these fishermen ventured into the sea on Saturday morning and did not return.
They have been identified as Gopal Giri (60), his two sons Madhusudan (35) and Rabindra (38) and Madhusudan’s brother-in-law Jaganath Pal (23), the police said.
“Jagannath was rescued near Digha coast in West Bengal, and he was admitted to a local hospital there,” the police said.
“Fishermen usually return to the coast by afternoon on the same day. But they had not returned home till evening on Saturday. So, their family members began to panic and informed the local police. A search operation is underway by the Odisha Police to rescue three of them,” he said.
Balasore Superintendent of Police Raj Prasad said, “We are continuing our efforts to trace and rescue the missing fishermen in coordination with the fishermen community, marine police and coast guard.” Modern equipment like state-of-the-art drones and boats of the marine police are being used in the search operations, he added.
The state police, in a post on X, said they have deployed a 12-tonne vessel from the Kasafal Marine Police Station and two boats of 12 tonnes and 5 tonnes from the Balaramgadi Marine Police Station.
Additionally, a ‘Sagar Mitra’ team from the state Fisheries and Animal Resources Development Department has also joined the rescue operation, it said.
With the help of drones, aerial surveillance is being conducted to locate the missing fishermen, the police said.
The search operations are underway in the sea since early morning by the Marine Police Station.
At the request of the state police, the Indian Coast Guard has also joined the rescue operation, they said.
Police personnel have strengthened patrolling along the coastline, and communication has been established with marine police stations in the neighbouring states to continue efforts to rescue the missing persons, the Odisha Police wrote on the social media platform. PTI BBM BBM BDC
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