7 fishermen rescued as boat from Malpe capsizes off Maharashtra coast

All seven fishermen were rescued after their fishing boat, 'Mathura', capsized 22 nautical miles off Maharashtra coast on Saturday.

The boat with seven fishermen had set out for deep sea fishing from Malpe on November 17. On November 26, the boat was sailing towards north, off Maharashtra coast, when it struck an object at around 12.30 pm. Soon cracks developed in its hull and water begun gushing inside. The boat suffered engine breakdown forcing the fishermen in the boat to send distress signals.

A fishing boat 'Mahur' which was sailing nearby, rushed towards the sinking boat and rescued the seven fishermen, including Gangadhar (26) of Bhatkal, Vinod Harikantra (22), Nagappa Harikantra (45), Anil Harikantra (24), Mahesh (23), Lokesh (24) of Kumta and Shekar (28) of Kundapur. The boat could not be salvaged and sank into the sea.

The loss from the boat wreck, owned by one Tharanath Kunder of Malpe, was estimated around Rs 65 lakh, the police said.