Nine decomposed bodies were recovered on Monday from the wreckage of a fishing vessel that went missing off the coast of West Bengal in the Bay of Bengal on July 4 after it was exposed to harsh weather conditions at sea, police said. Police said six fishermen are still missing.
An officer from Sundarban Police District said: “The wreckage of the fishing vessel, MV Joy Ma Kali, was found in the Bay of Bengal about 5 km off the coast of Bagharchar in South 24 Parganas. Nine decomposed bodies were recovered from the wreckage, and six fishermen are still missing. The search operation is still ongoing.”
On July 2, fishing boats, including the vessel MV Joy Ma Kali, with 15 fishermen on board, left the coast of Shankarpur in East Midnapore district, locals said. They were supposed to return after 10 to 12 days.
But on July 3, the India Meteorological Department issued a warning to fishermen, saying that the sea would be rough until July 7 due to low pressure over the northwest Bay of Bengal. Those who had gone to sea were asked to return.
“While others returned, the vessel ‘Joi Ma Kali’ got stuck in bad weather. We lost contact with them after July 4. After that, the administration was alerted and a search operation was launched,” said Kartik Bera, brother of the fishing vessel’s owner.
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The police, forest department, local fishermen and coast guard conducted the search.
On July 10, police received information from fishermen that plane wreckage had been spotted off the coast of Gobardhanpur.
An officer said: “The wreckage was spotted. Since the weather was still bad and the waves were high, local fishermen helped to tow the fishing vessel that was turned upside down to the coast. It was transported to the coast on Sunday evening. Water was pumped out and nine decomposed bodies were recovered.”
The bodies had decomposed beyond recognition. Police said they have been sent for an autopsy.
The fishermen on board the trawler were from Odisha, Nadia, East Midnapore and West Midnapore.
