Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 8 (PTI) The search for three fishermen who have been missing since July 31 following separate boat mishaps in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts will continue as they remained untraced on Saturday, police said.
The search, which entered its ninth day, was carried out in Vizhinjam and Muthalapozhi in Thiruvananthapuram district and Neendakara in Kollam district.
Gautam Krishna (26) of Puthenthura went missing after a fishing boat capsized at Neendakara on July 31.
Gautam’s father, Radhakrishnan (48), and grandfather, Rajeevan (74), who were also on the boat, died in the mishap.
Following a protest by Gautam’s mother, Reshma, the search was intensified on Friday with additional Coastal Police boats deployed and Coast Guard helicopters and drones pressed into service, officials said.
Although the search was extended to the backwaters on Saturday, Gautam could not be traced, officials said, adding that the operation would continue on Sunday.
The Vizhinjam Coastal Police continued the search for John (54) of Pulluvila, who went missing in a separate boat mishap off the Thiruvananthapuram coast on July 31.
The search was carried out with the help of the Coast Guard and fishermen, officials said.
Although the operation was extended up to the coast bordering Tamil Nadu, John could not be traced, officials said.
The operation was suspended in the evening and would resume on Sunday morning, they said.
The search for Shijin (32), who went missing after a fishing boat capsized off Muthalapozhi on July 31, also resumed on Saturday morning.
Shijin’s family members had staged a protest by sitting on the rain-soaked road near the Anchuthengu Coastal Police Station, alleging that proper search operations were not being carried out to trace him.
Later, Transport Minister C P John visited the missing fisherman’s residence and assured the family that the search would be intensified.
The minister also accepted the family’s demand to deploy 10 fishermen to assist in the search from Saturday.
On Saturday morning, the family expressed displeasure after the scuba divers failed to arrive, officials said.
However, the divers reached the site by afternoon and joined the search operation along with the Coastal Police, Coast Guard, Marine Enforcement wing of the Fisheries Department and fishermen.
Officials at the Anchuthengu Coastal Police Station said the search was affected by adverse weather conditions.
It was decided to continue the search on Sunday, officials said.
Minister C P John said there were not enough divers authorised to undertake such operations, which caused the delay.
“Also, the safety of the divers has to be considered,” he said.
He said authorities would not take offence when grieving families spoke emotionally about the search operation.
“When they express their pain and grief, we are not prepared to offer justifications or excuses. Efforts to locate them were carried out continuously for about eight days. An aerial survey was conducted there for 82 hours,” he said.
John said the government would do everything possible to trace the missing fishermen.
The Opposition has been targeting the UDF government, alleging lethargy in the search operations, while the DYFI staged a protest at the Kollam Collectorate.
The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council demanded that the state government strengthen search and rescue mechanisms for fishermen. PTI TBA SSK
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