Navy searches for missing fishermen off Mangaluru coast

Following reports that an Indian fishing boat had collided with a merchant ship off New Mangalore on Tuesday, the Indian Navy has deployed several ships and aircraft to recover the crew.

According to the office of the Defense Public Relations Officer, the IFB Rabah with a crew of 14 had collided with the Singaporean flag merchant ship MV APL Le Havre, 40 nautical miles west of New Mangalore at about 2 am on April 13.

Read | Coast Guard rescue two, recover three bodies after fishing boat hits ship off Mangaluru coast

The incident prompted the Indian Naval Ships Tillanchang and Kalpeni, along with naval aircraft from Goa, to be directed into the area to augment Coast Guard search-and-rescue efforts. While two rescued fishermen have been transferred to shore, several of the crew appear to have perished. The navy has found three bodies so far with the remaining nine crewmen still missing.

Assisting in the rescue efforts is the INS Subhadra, a patrol vessel, which sailed from Karwar with a diving team embarked. This vessel arrived in the search area in the early hours of April 14. “Two specialist diving teams are undertaking snag line search in the area in an effort to locate the sunk fishing craft,” a statement said.