Bhogarai: The bodies of nine fishermen were recovered from a capsized fishing trawler that went missing in rough seas off West Bengal coast, while six are still missing, officials said Monday. The trawler, MB Maa Kali, had left Shankarpur fishing harbour in West Bengal’s East Midnapore district July 2 with 15 fishermen on board for a hilsa fishing expedition.
However, the trawler disappeared during a severe storm. After an 11-day search, fishermen located the overturned trawler floating near Chulkati Jungle, about 16 km from Bakkhali in South 24 Parganas district. Indian Coast Guard, Forest Department, and other agencies towed the vessel to Sitarampur under Gobardhanpur Marine Police Station in Patharpratima block, where a search operation was conducted overnight. Nine bodies were recovered from inside the vessel. The search for the remaining six fishermen was continuing at the time of reporting.
The bodies were sent to Kakadwip Super Specialty Hospital for postmortem and DNA testing. Authorities said identification has been delayed because the bodies were badly decomposed. Family members have gathered at the hospital awaiting confirmation of the victims’ identities.
Among the 15 fishermen aboard were three siblings – Rabindra Majhi, Jagannath Majhi and Jayaram Majhi – from Uluda village under this block in Baleshwar district. With the identities of the deceased yet to be ascertained, anxiety among their family members, including their 85-year-old mother, continues to mount. Bhogarai MLA Goutam Buddha Das expressed condolences to the families of the missing and deceased fishermen.
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