Unidentified ship hits fishing boat

An unidentified ship, said to be a cargo vessel, has hit and sank a fishing boat off Kerala coast injuring seven fishermen.
The vessel involved in the incident could not be identified. The matter was reported to the Coast Guard almost 12 hours after it occurred in the wee hours around 55 nautical miles south-west off the Kochi coast, coastal security sources said.
Coast Guard and Kochi coastal police have launched a joint investigation to identify the vessel involved in the incident, sources said.
According to the fishermen admitted in a hospital in Fort Kochi, their country boat sank when it was hit by the ship.

"We were engaged in fishing activity when our boat was hit by the ship at around 3 am this morning. The ship did not stop and went away," a fisherman told a Malayalam news channel.
The fishermen said theymanaged to contact another fishing boat in the vicinity which rescued them from the sinking boat.

Local media reports quoting the fishermen said they suspect it was a cargo vessel which involved in the hit and run.
Coastal security sources said the collision occurred about 55 nautical miles south west of Kochi but the matter was reported to the coast security agencies at 3pm today.

Coast Guard has launched Investigation to identify the defaulting vessel, sources said.
The injured fishermen are treated at a hospital here.