Cyclone Bulbul: Rescue team's search fails to find 5 missing fishermen

The day-long joint search on Tuesday by Indian Coast Guard and the NDRF could not find any of the five fishermen missing since two trawlers carrying them capsized off Mousuni island in West Bengal under the impact of Cyclone Bulbul.

Out of the total nine fishermen who had gone missing, bodies of four fishermen had been found on Monday after a sustained hunt and were handed over to the district administration.

A Coast Guard team under Commandant Deepak Singh, Haldia, scoured through the waters where the mishap had taken place.

The Coast Guard and NDRF team included divers who went deep inside the sea on Tuesday but their efforts did not yield any result.

"It appears that the positions of the capsized boats have changed due to the strong water currents and they have moved to the deeper side of the sea. The search team made strong efforts during the day but could not trace any of the five who are still missing," Commander of Coast Guard, West Bengal and its Deputy Inspector General S R Dash told PTI.

Dash said the operation will be taken up again on Wednesday.

He said that as per the information gathered from locals and other sources, three trawlers had ventured into the sea from the shores of Mousuni island. Out of them two capsized under impact of Cyclone Bulbul on the midnight of Saturday, about 50 metres away.

Cyclone Bulbul had made its landfall between Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas district and Khepupara in Bangladesh on Saturday midnight. It had then hurtled northeastwards into neighbouring Bangladesh over the Sunderban delta.