48 fishers of boat that collided with sunken vessel rescued off Vypeen

Debris of two vessels near Kochi shipping channel poses threat to boats

Forty-eight fishers aboard the fishing boat ‘St. Antony’ were rescued after it collided with a fishing vessel that had sunk earlier off the coast of Vypeen, close to the Kochi shipping channel. The collision took place around 5.30 a.m. on Wednesday, said a spokesman for the traditional fishers’ association, Paramparagatha Matsya Thozhilali Union, at Vypeen. P.V. Jayan of the union said that fishers on boats nearby came to the rescue of those on the boat. Their timely intervention helped save the lives of the 48 fishers, he said. According to fishers, two boats had sunk off the coast of Vypeen and the debris poses hindrance to the movement of fishing boats, especially during low tide. One of these boats, Poornasree, had sunk in the third week of May, 2021 and another boat, Ashiqmon, on August 31 night, said Charles George of Matysa Thozhilali Aikya Vedhi, a union of traditional fishers.