19 fishermen go missing after boat capsized in West Bengal, rescue operation underway

Kolkata, July 18: High tides, lashing winds, and an unnecessary adventurous expedition went terribly wrong as 19 fishermen have gone missing after their boat capsized in the sea, off Frazerganj harbor, in Sundarban area of south Bengal.

The officials have deployed a hovercraft and an airplane into service to look for the missing persons. Apart from that, coast guard personnel, police officers and members of a fishermen association have also gone out into the sea for the rescue operation, Sunderban Superintendent of Police Tathagata Basu said.

Bijan Maity, the secretary of West Bengal United Fishermen Association, said the men, mostly from Namkhana and Kakdwip areas of South 24 Parganas district, set sail into the Bay of Bengal around 10 am yesterday as there were "no Met department warnings on the radio".

Around 4 pm, however, the sea turned rough and huge waves, accompanied with gusty winds, overturned several trawlers in the sea, he said. "Although many trawlers returned to safety, three boats - MV Malleshwar, MV Joykishan, and MV Maa Shibani - capsized in the sea. Around 10 fishermen of MV Joykishan and six of MV Malleshwar, and three more of some other trawlers have gone missing," Maity said.

The Met Office website, however, shows that West Bengal fishermen were advised against venturing into the sea yesterday. Despite the warning issued by the MeT, the fishermen attempted to go in the sea. The torrential rain has created havoc and disrupted the normal lives in many parts of the country. The eastern belt of India like Assam, Orrisa, and the Northeast regions has been heavily affected by the continuous rainfall.

Moving on similar lines, the state of West Bengal has also hovered with incessant rainfall.