Six fishermen missing after fishing boat capsizes in Arabian Sea off Mangaluru coast

At least six fishermen went missing after a purse seine deep-sea fishing boat capsized in Arabian sea, off the coast of Mangaluru on early hours of Tuesday. A total of 22 fishermen were on board at the time of the incident, of which, 16 were rescued with the help of dinghies.

The local fishermen and the Coast Guard are conducting search and rescue operations. According to Coast Guard officials, the boat ‘Shree Raksha’ with 22 fishermen had left the dock at 5 am on Monday and after undertaking fishing, it was expected to reach the dock in Mangaluru on Tuesday morning.

“Since the boat did not reach at the expected time, the boat owner tried to contact those in the boat through wireless but could not reach them. They alerted the coast guard and other boats in the sea. Other local fishermen noticed some nautical miles away that 16 persons had taken shelter in dinghies and they were rescued, immediately,” said a Coast Guard official.

According to the rescued fishermen, the fishing boat might have capsized due to the huge weight of fish and it lost balance after swaying due to strong wind.