KASARAGOD: Three young fishermen, including a teenager, are feared dead and four others swam to safety when their boat capsized at the mouth of the harbour in Kasaragod on Sunday.
Those missing were identified as Karthik, 19, son of Shanmugham; Ratheeshan, 30, son of Ambadi; and Sandeep, 33, son of Sasi — all from Kasaragod Kasaba.
Ravi, 40, son of Soman; Shibin, 30, son Lakshmanan; Manikuttan, 35, son of Bhaskaran; and Sasi, 30, son of Vasanth, swam to safety by holding on to the capsized boat.
All of them were sons of traditional fishermen and depend on fishing to eke out a living, said G Narayanan, district president of All India Matsya Thozhilali Congress.
The seven men were entering the choppy sea when their boat was overturned by rough waves, he said. The accident happened around 6 am.
“There were other fishermen on the harbour and they saw the accident. But no one could approach the sea because it was wild,” he said.The mouth of the sea has strong undercurrents, too, he said.
Kasaragod coastal police said they deployed three boats, the Department of Fisheries deployed its rescue boat to search for them.
The fishermen too have hit the sea with their boats.
“It’s been nearly 12 hours, we have not found them,” said an officer in the Coastal Police Station at 6 pm.
The traditional fishermen, especially the younger men, hit the sea during June and July to make some money.
“But it is fraught with danger, too,” said Narayanan, a former councillor of Kasaragod municipality.