Cyclone Bulbul: search on for five missing fishermen

Hectic search by the Indian Coast Guard and the NDRF continued, but none of the five fishermen missing since two trawlers carrying them capsized under the impact of Cyclone Bulbul three days ago was found, a senior Coast Guard officer said on Wednesday.

Chances of their survival were slim, the officer said.

The two trawlers capsized off Mousuni island in West Bengal as the cyclone made landfall in the state on Saturday night. Out of the total nine fishermen who had gone missing, bodies of four had been found on Monday.

However, whereabouts of the remaining five are not known and personnel of the Coast Guard and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) conducted search for them on Tuesday as well as Wednesday.

Commander of Coast Guard, West Bengal, and its Deputy Inspector General S R Dash said the two boats, which had drifted away to deep seas due to strong water current, was spotted on Wednesday and efforts are being made to bring them to shallow side.

After bringing the two sunken boats to the shallow area, a hunt for the missing fishermen would be conducted on Thursday, Dash told PTI.

He, however, did not sound very optimistic about their chances of survival.

"The chances of their survival are low," the Coast Guard DIG said.

Like the previous days, a Coast Guard team from Haldia under Commandant Deepak Singh scoured through the waters where the mishap had taken place.

The Coast Guard and NDRF team are jointly engaged in the operation.

Three trawlers had ventured into the sea from the shores of Mousuni island. Out of them, two capsized under the impact of Cyclone Bulbul on the midnight of Saturday, about 50 metres away from the island.

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

West Bengal Chief Minister on Wednesday said at least nine people of three districts have lost their lives in the calamity.