Fishing workers rescued from vessel that sank off Goa coast return

A file photo of the fishing vessel from Munambam that sank after colliding with an Indian Navy platform off the Goa coast last week. 

Emotional scenes were played out when nine of the 11 fishing workers rescued from a vessel that had left for deep-sea fishing from the Munambam mini harbour and sank after colliding with an Indian Navy platform off the Goa coast last week returned to Munambam on Wednesday (November 27).

They were in tears as two of their co-workers remain missing since the accident on November 21. The missing persons are Janeesh, 29, of Colachel in Tamil Nadu, who had been serving as the boat driver since the last season, and Ramesh, 24, of Odisha. Many of the workers spotted marks of injuries they sustained in the accident.

“We were engaged in fishing when the driver called out that we may move to another spot since the catch seemed to be meagre. Just then, we heard a sound, and when we looked back, we saw the rear end of the boat getting lifted, and eventually the boat sank throwing us all into the water,” recalled one of the workers.

The vessel with a 13-member crew reportedly collided with a submarine. Following the accident, the Navy rescued five workers, while the rest could not be found.

“According to the survivors, they were rescued by another vessel, thus taking the total number of rescued to 11. Janeesh probably got trapped in the driver’s room in the boat, which sank,” said Alby O., one of the three partners who owned the vessel.

Incidentally, none of the workers aboard the vessel are from Kerala. They are mostly from West Bengal, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu.

The seven-year-old vessel, Mar Thoma, had left the Munambam mini harbour for deep-sea fishing on November 15. Usually, the expedition lasts 10 to 12 days depending on how far the workers go in search of a catch.

Mr. Alby said they came to know about the accident only the next morning when one of the partners got a call, probably from the Navy or the Coast Guard, seeking details about the boat. “When we asked why they were asking about our boat, they said it was for verification, and that they got our number from the Fisheries department. They asked us whether we had been able to contact the workers aboard the vessel, to which we said we would be able to contact them only when they returned,” he added.

“We received calls again in the afternoon and evening and only then it was confirmed to us that the boat involved in the accident was indeed ours,” Mr. Alby said. Two of his partners continue to be in Goa since Saturday to complete the legal formalities and get a case registered.

The workers who returned have been put up in lodge rooms here. The family members of the missing fishermen are also here.